Karl Bartos: Last News

Mantra Of The Cosmos – the new group featuring Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays, Black Grape), drummer Zak Starkey (The Who, Oasis), guitarist Andy Bell (Oasis, Ride) and Bez (Happy Mondays, Black Grape) – have shared their new single ‘X (Wot You Sayin?)’ and spoken to NME about their forthcoming plans.The collective were formed by Starkey – who is the son of Ringo Starr – after he initially tried to work on a krautrock project with ex-Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos during the pandemic.“I wanted him to produce it and write the lyrics because I really like his solo work and what he did with Kraftwerk,” Starkey, who is at pains to point out that Mantra are not a supergroup, told NME over Zoom. “He’s got really mad words and he can think outside the box.

Kraftwerk was supposed to be the man machine, the ultimate fusion of culture and technology. The band’s use of electronic instruments in pop-song form paved the way for those that followed, an influence felt from Detroit techno to London grime, from Kanye to Coldplay. This was a unit whose music would live on via automation long after its human incarnation had departed the natural realm. And yet the death of Florian Schneider—the band’s co-founder, sonic perfectionist, and erstwhile flute player—still hurts like hell.