How Kraftwerk’s radical 1976 track Radioactivity became an anti-nuclear anthem

Kraftwerk’s entire catalogue is a kind of extraordinary circuit board, connecting to unlimited musical styles: hip-hop; electro; ambient; new wave; synth pop; industrial rock; Detroit techno; contemporary classical. Radio-Activity particularly seized the spirit of sound and vision. The original artwork was designed by long-time collaborator Emil Schult, while the music was presented in increasingly ambitious ways: in Flür’s book, I Was a Robot, he relates playing Radioactivity live using a light-triggered “percussion cage”, which would frequently glitch onstage. The album has been sampled by acts including New Order (most famously on Blue Monday), The Chemical Brothers, and Miley Cyrus.