Cabaret Voltaire : Classic Or Dud/Search and Destroy

Yeah. I'm aware of Chris Watson. I've interviewed him in fact. Bands often go through different phases in one career. It's not a difficult concept to get your head around. I'm aware that people have a lot of emotion tied up with 1970s and 1980s Cabaret Voltaire. I'm one of them. But simply writing off Cabs off because they're not sat in a squat doing tape loop experiments is madness.

I write off anyone who is not sat in a squat doing tape loop experiments tbh

What about Scritti?

I genuinely think more bands should be sat in squats doing tape loop experiments. Mumford and Sons for example.

Yeah. I'm aware of Chris Watson. I've interviewed him in fact. Bands often go through different phases in one career. It's not a difficult concept to get your head around. I'm aware that people have a lot of emotion tied up with 1970s and 1980s Cabaret Voltaire. I'm one of them. But simply writing off Cabs off because they're not sat in a squat doing tape loop experiments is madness.

I think I've told this story here before but there's a can't-get-past-the-moment thing w/me & the Cabs - at the time of 2x45 & Eddie's Out/Fools Game they were my favorite band - more specifically, my friend Tom & I were constantly spinning CV, writing their interlocking logo on whatever surfaces we could find, having doubtless insufferable discussions about them all the time. I'd found the Mallinder solo stuff, listened to it once & then had it stolen; we'd pieced together what we could about them, there wasn't much info to get. And then suddenly The Crackdown. I can dig it now but at the time it was just the gravest most horrible disappointment - what the fuck is up with these whispery vocals with, horrors, audible lyrics? So yeah. It's really much younger underrated a. who reps for the 3-member Cabaret Voltaire, but I have much fealty to young underrated a., because he will go ham if time slips and he shows up and finds me not toeing a very purist line.

tell young time traveling aero to stfu and watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4IAnSdtbNY

and like, when I first bought the Fools Game 12", there was some older dude, I have no idea whose friend he was or how we ended up at his house, he was probably putting the make on us idk I was 14, but he had what is still probably the best home stereo I've ever been in the presence of. (he also had a floatation tank in his house. RIP post-70s California single-dude apartments) I'd bought the 12" but none of us had heard it, we were stoked, and then there we are at this dude's house and Tom, who's like this great combo of impeccable manners and just-every-so-often-but-then-really horrible ones, says - in his most polite way - "Can we listen to the record aero bought?" and we put the shit on and it was like....holy fuck this sounds amazing. And it was so long, it was like it went on forever, and the pitched movie dialogue on Gut Level was just so terrifying. And the leftover sax stuff from that sort of smash-jazz era of "out" English stuff...the bleakness of it.

In other news this is really interesting and I had never heard of it:

or all the viewers not from italy:

this was the usual thing in early 80s in italy, all kinds of exotic music with a beat

were slowed or speeded up until they reached 95-100 beats per minute.

I remember the same treatment to the instrumental version of "don't you want me".

A very atmospheric and slow track , "Eyes of a stranger" by Payolas, was speeded up to reach that bpm so the voice track was a nearly comic result of a 2year od child singin' in falsetto. I was dj too but didn like that thng

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep8mvWy3QNE

No mention of 'Voice of America', the Cabs first LP? Excellent early industrial stuff. Also glad to se Moley repping for 'Code'. Cheesy but very listenable. Better than SPK they went dance.

yeah ultimately dance CV > dance SPK, but man do I love "Breathless"

But Slogun > Nag Nag Nag

Having said that though…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgENIfKAP7A&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Fair play. I'd like to listen to all of the Attic Tapes box set in a flotation tank.

When I went to listen to Chris Watson's massive installation in the Victorian palm house at Kew Gardens last year, it was so impressive I ended up staying there all day to listen to it as many times as I could. It's quite a famous greenhouse and I think it features in the 'Caterpillar' video by The Cure. He recorded 15 minutes at sunset and 15 minutes at sunrise of sound in a section of tropical rainforest.

If I understood the concept correctly he used 80 microphones to record the sound and then played it back through 80 speakers which were placed all around the palm house on every level, meaning you could walk through the field recording as it were. For example if you were walking along the gantries at the top of the Palm House you'd hear more bird noise than you would below where there would be more insect noise.

And on the last playback of the day I saw Watson sat under a palm and I was going to go over and say hello but he was with a clearly delighted lady companion so I just threw the horns at him instead. Discretely of course.

No mention of 'Voice of America', the Cabs first LP?

No! Mix-up is the first LP.

btw my single trip to Kew Gardens was a wonderful day for me, a Watson sound installation in the palm house sounds just sublime.

never heard fools game before.

love it.

as this is the era of CV i love, i really regret not getting the conform to deform boxset now.

No mention of 'Voice of America', the Cabs first LP?

No! Mix-up is the first LP.

And "Voice of America" is actually their 3rd LP! Arguably their 4th if "Three Mantras" is considered an album.

I consider "Three Mantras" an EP. A really long one, in the style of the day! But still an EP.

Love aero's story upthread, sort of reminds me of the Alfred Molina scene in Boogie Nights, wonder how that would play with 'Gut Level' replacing 'Sister Christian'.

What's the latest on the reissues? I just realized it's my man Bill Nelson playing guitar on half the tracks on "Code" and in yhe video for "Here To Go". I love discovering new things about albums I've had for decades. I just gave it a spin and it's better than I remember, though I love it's predecessor much more.

How has no one mentioned Mal's new band, Wrangler, with Benge (whose work with John Foxx as the Maths is fantastic). Their new album is one of the best new releases of the year, a great melding of Virgin era CV and modern sounds.

Anyone have any thoughts on the various live albums released? I'm specifically interested in something good-sounding from their Virgin era (83-87).

Has there been any sign of any further early remasters after red Mecca came out a couple of years ago. Would love copies of those first couple of lps in better sound on cd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7K-vkaWB0g

Nobody captured noirish paranoia better than Cabaret Voltaire. Like a William Friedkin movie in a song.

RHKs new album is very pre-Virgin era CV sounding.

I am listening to "Fool's Game" right now in honor of this revive

Funny how the 12" mix of "Blue Heat" wound up on the CD when there never was a 12" released. I'm guessing it was planned but the label said no.

Every couple of years I revisit early Cabs, and it just sounds better each time. I mean, I've always dug the singles but today I spun "2x45" (love it), "Three Mantras" (Western Mantra is epic, Eastern not as much), "Red Mecca" (still warming to some of it) and rediscovered Stephen Mallinder's solo album "Pow-Wow Plus" which has some fantastic tracks that would fit well on 2x45. I even ordered the rare CD edition of the latter though I noted it removes two tracks from the original EP (1-20 and 1-34).

after a weekend of CV excess and a few glasses of wine I succumbed and ordered the Technology/'92 revision cd.
I have avoided this release ever since it came out due to fear of altering the originals too much.
so far I have to say I was a fool as I am loving the minimal CV styled electo-funk revisions.
the music is very stripped back in comparison to the originals, but there is still that CV sound.
something that after years of listening to late 80s/early 90s dance remixes I did not expect to be honest.
that said, back in '92 I was not as open minded and would have probably hated this set.
also, this now means I have a complete set of CVCD1-CVCD4 at long bloody last.

I think it's just you and me on this thread, Mark. I wish I shared your enthusiasm for their 90s work but - nope.

I often have a compulsion to play "The Original Sound Of Sheffield 83-87" comp with all their amazing 12" versions. In that era, most 12" versions took a bit of the chorus and maybe one other section and just looped them but CV's extended versions are truly definitive.

my era has always been the 80s era (Crackdown > CODE).
hence I held off from getting this '92 remix set for a very long time.
having heard most of it now I still prefer the originals,
but I will add it to my list of CV listens as it has a definite CV sound to it, albeit different to the albums/12" versions.
as I said this weekend on twitter, the "83-87" compilation is by far the best compilation of their groove ever in my opinion.
nothing surpasses those 12" versions.

Anyone have any thoughts on the various live albums released? I'm specifically interested in something good-sounding from their Virgin era (83-87).

I have only the live album that comes with 'Deform .. ' boxset which was very much the late EMI era.
the sound quality is debateable to say the least for a major label boxset.
it sounds like a beefed up crowd based cassette recording as opposed to a mixing disc recording.
hence I care not for it.
a true stereo mixing desk recording of such a gig would be totally insane, but this recording is not that.
thankfully the rest of the boxset easily makes up for the disappointment.

damn just bumped western mantra it's so SICKKKKKKK

don't have that track in the archives.
I have tried a few tracks pre Virgin over the years out of duty, and I even have VOA on vinyl, but its way too raw for me.

xp Three Mantras is fantastic. Here's another great one that just might be my favorite CV track. I wish it was twice as long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGnBWqK78G0

*hears three mantras once*

this is the best band that ever existed

really wish i had gotten into this band years ago though idk if i'd have been ready for them before now

2x45 rocks my world

I kinda want to know what you'd think of Mallinder's Pow Wow album (partly bcz it's the only CV I know, but I love it! and am planning a Cabs deep dive p soon) though I'm not sure if it's streaming anywhere

Pow Wow = minor league Cabs.

Is there any likelihood that the early 3 piece lps are ever going to be remastered? I think Red Mecca was when it came out on vinyl with free cd but want the others in best sound. & I think any reissue has just been of the original cd.
Do love that early stuff. Don't really like the 2 piece stuff too much. Though the bits of solo stuff from the 90s I have heard seemed ok.

I love "Western Mantra" but not so much "Eastern Mantra". The dynamism of the former really appeals to me whereas the drone of the latter is too dominant.

"2x45", with the brilliant "Yashar" is their transition from their early style towards something more accessible.

I only discovered "Pow Wow" a few years ago but it fits nicely in the period we're discussing. Minor league, for sure, but still has it's charms.

Stevo, do you think remastering of the early material will make a difference? Not exactly hifi recording gear in the first place.

The duo records I return to the most are Drinking Gasoline and Microphonies, have s soft spot for other tracks but it's spotty from The Crackdown onwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FstV3e7fqyo

been really transfixed by the live album hai! over the last few days

that version of "diskono" feels both of and ahead of and beyond its time, which i suppose is the cabaret voltaire effect

Brad u gotta check out Voice Of America! prob my favorite

yeah i'll be doubling back to the early albums shortly, especially after hearing three mantras. i listened to mix-up a few times in college and iirc it just scared me lol

i feel obligated to point out that Ekoplekz released an album called In Search of the Third Mantra this year.

RIYL cheap drum machines and retro plinky synths

a question. on the CV methodology: attic tapes (74/75) there are tracks called things like "Synthi AKS (Piece One)". did they have a AKS? weren't they crazily expensive at the time? (~£450 at launch which is well over £5k today)

(this is £6 on google play music store btw, £20 on amazon)

I was listening to Ekoplekz thing just hours ago but the significance of the title didn't even occur to me!

I haven't heard Hai! before now. This appears to have been a non-trivial oversight. I'm clearly unworthy of my username.