Karl Bartos German musician, guitarist. Date of Birth: 31.05.1952 Country: Germany

Biography of Karl Bartos

Karl Bartos is a German musician and guitarist who gained fame as a member of the electronic music group Kraftwerk from 1975 to 1991. He was born in Berchtesgaden and started playing guitar in amateur rock bands during his school years, covering English-language hits of the time. After completing school, he continued playing in various bands while also taking private drum lessons.

In 1970, Bartos enrolled in the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Düsseldorf to study percussion with the goal of becoming a percussionist in a classical music orchestra. In 1975, he joined Kraftwerk, who had just released their album "Autobahn" and were in need of a percussionist for their upcoming American tour. Bartos contributed to the recording of the band's next album, "Radio-Aktivität," and co-wrote some compositions on "Die Mensch-Maschine" (1978), "Computerwelt" (1981), and "Electric Café" (1986), with the latter featuring him as the lead vocalist on the song "Der Telephonanruf."

After a series of concerts in 1990 and 1991, Bartos left Kraftwerk due to tensions with the group's founders, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. He is currently reluctant to talk about his years in Kraftwerk. In the 1990s, Bartos released two albums under his own electronic project called Electric Music, which continued the musical ideas of Kraftwerk. He also participated in the recording of the second album "Raise The Pressure" by the British project Electronic, founded by Bernard Sumner (formerly of New Order) and Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) from 1994 to 1995.

During the same period, Bartos collaborated with Andy McCluskey on the album "Universal" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. In 2003, he released his first solo album, "Communication." Currently, Bartos teaches at the Berlin University of the Arts.