Kraftwerk has announced a 50th anniversary reissue of Radio-Activity, their first entirely electronic album originally released in late 1975. The new editions feature a Dolby Atmos mix created by founder Ralf Hütter and Fritz Hilpert, set for release on May 15.
Kraftwerk's Radio-Activity, the pioneering German band's fifth studio LP, is a concept album exploring themes of radioactive decay and radio communication. To mark five decades, the group is releasing updated versions from the original 16-track master tapes. Ralf Hütter worked with Fritz Hilpert on a new Dolby Atmos mix, which promises “vivid new shading, forensic detail and richly layered cinematic depth.” The Blu-ray audio disc includes Dolby Atmos, 5.1, and stereo mixes of the original album, plus an exclusive anniversary booklet. A special edition 12” vinyl picture disc uses the 2009 remaster, and the full Dolby Atmos mix will stream digitally. Pre-orders are available now. Alongside this, Kraftwerk has added a UK and Ireland leg to their ‘Multimedia’ tour due to “exceptional demand.” The shows begin May 17 at Dublin’s Bord Gais Energy Theatre, followed by stops in Belfast, Wolverhampton, Manchester, Glasgow, Stockton, Sheffield, Brighton, Bristol, Bournemouth, three nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 4 and 5, Liverpool, Nottingham, and Edinburgh’s Playhouse on June 9. This marks their first UK tour since 2017, apart from a one-off at Milton Keynes’ Forever Now Festival last June. The ‘Multimedia’ tour, launched in 2012 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, blends performance and digital installation with 3D visuals, drawing from albums like Autobahn (1974), Trans Europe Express (1977), and Computer World (1981). Separately, late co-founder Florian Schneider’s instruments, including a suitcase synthesiser, flute, and vocoders, were auctioned in November.