god i love this band
― latebloomer, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:49 (sixteen years ago) link
what's the consensus on HAI? i like that album, played a track from it early on in my dj set last night.
― htshell, Monday, 25 February 2008 03:30 (sixteen years ago) link
Mr. Odd, if you like Crackdown and Microphonies you will surely love Listen Up. It has resisted being sold out of my CD collection for 15 years now. Lots of previously unreleased or video-only tracks as well.
― sleeve, Monday, 25 February 2008 05:31 (sixteen years ago) link
Crackdown's probably their best... it's like they're the masters of dark, weird funky electronic dance. I guess it sounds dated if you were old enough to have memories from the early 80s.
― burt_stanton, Monday, 25 February 2008 07:23 (sixteen years ago) link
They are one of my fave bands/duos/artists in the history of the entire world. Please talk to me about them.
Oh never mind: I will construct a POX of them that will help me and probably most anyone else who would bother reading about how Bimble loves Cabaret Voltaire now and forever until the end of time. They make me so happy. I don't even want to get started on the Crackdown album right now.
I fucking love Cabaret Voltaire okay and I have the BBC Sessions 84-86 now so the heavens love me.
I am currently listening to "You Like To Torment Me" (Long Session)
These guys were the fucking shit and I don't care what your tastes are. If you don't like Cabaret Voltaire, then I hope you like some other fave band of mine, because we've got basic problems already.
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Saturday, 3 May 2008 04:16 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm still baffled that they don't get more respect. 'Live YMCA' is a particular favorite - one of the most brilliantly screwed-up recordings ever, constantly teetering on the edge of falling apart. And there are quite a few other singles by other bands that I like as much as 'Nag, Nag, Nag', but I really can't think of any that I actually like more.
― Soukesian, Saturday, 3 May 2008 16:27 (fifteen years ago) link
I am shocked that Bimble likes this band from the 80s
― J0hn D., Saturday, 3 May 2008 16:43 (fifteen years ago) link
Zing!
Yes I just got Live YMCA recently, actually. Only played it once so far. I'm going to put it on again as soon as I finish listening to John Cale's cover of LCD Sounsystem's "All My Friends" which seems to me came out nearly exactly a year ago. I'm sure it was. May of '07
Also was going to revive a Velvets thread very soon.
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Saturday, 3 May 2008 17:04 (fifteen years ago) link
And yes I'm afraid I remain woefully ignorant of the Mountain Goats, Mr. John D. Though I recall hearing some good things from whatever was the first 4AD release.
I should probably check out that Heretic Pride.
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Saturday, 3 May 2008 17:16 (fifteen years ago) link
Velvets count as 80s because nobody liked them in the 70s LOL
as I say upthread, possibly in some other alias, Cabaret Voltaire was one of my favorite bands. I do think they've aged badly - a lot of their stuff sounds good if you liked it at the time, but if you play it for people who haven't heard it, it's kind of like trying to explain what was ever good about cassettes. You know? I still think the Fools Game/Gut Level 12" is their peak - hits the spot just right. A lot of the other stuff sounds kinda proof-of-concept to me now, which makes me sad to say - I mean, when they were around, my friends and I thought pretty highly of ourselves for "appreciating" the Cabs.
― J0hn D., Saturday, 3 May 2008 18:15 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh no I disagree! The Fools Game 12" I sold! Sorry! :(
Anyway look, right now I am not really believing that there is a live version of "On Every Other Street" on this YMCA 1979 thing, because I am due for an orgasm whenever that song comes on. Holy hell.
They were the sythesizer ANTI-JAMES BROWN man. They were the dirty funk (gunk) on the sole of your shoes that you were too embarrassed to wipe away.
There may be some truth in what you say about trying to explain it to people who haven't heard it, though.
NAG NAG NAG!!!!!!!
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Saturday, 3 May 2008 18:30 (fifteen years ago) link
xpost- I dunno, I'm only 24 and Cabaret Voltaire (at least the early stuff. I haven't heard anything past Red Mecca) sounds GREAT to my ears. Sorta like Chrome in that they sound like music played by really shitty robots, like if you'd buried an early prototype of Kraftwerk in toxic sludge, then accidentally uncovered them two hundred years later and OH SHIT THEY'RE STILL ALIVE WHAT AN UNSPEAKABLY HORRIBLE EXISTENCE
― BigLurks, Saturday, 3 May 2008 18:33 (fifteen years ago) link
Ha! OTM!
― Soukesian, Saturday, 3 May 2008 19:16 (fifteen years ago) link
The stuff past Red Mecca has the ability to alternately sound like some totally still unrivalled futuristic cut-and-paste electro-techno-funk craze or some low-fi casio Skinny Puppy inspiring industrial "funk", which is why I see where both John and Bimble come from.
My problem with the cabs is often the "songwriting", which wasn't always the point obviously. Everything SOUNDS amazing to me, but then the song just goes on and maybe I wish there was a bit more verse/chorus/verse structure going on. That's just me though. I'm a fan from start to finish though, I'm especially fond of Richard Kirk's Virtual State CD.
― dan selzer, Saturday, 3 May 2008 20:01 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah, Cabaret Voltaire and Chrome always linked up to me like they share the same genetic code or something. I'm 25 and it still sounds pretty fresh; I mean c'mon, most popular electronic acts are still stuck in the modular synth 70s retro deal.
― burt_stanton, Saturday, 3 May 2008 20:19 (fifteen years ago) link
When I first heard Public Enemy, the immediate reference point that occurred was 'Crackdown'-era Cabs - the sheer depth of voice samples and atonal loops in the mix. I don't know if the Bomb Squad were aware of them, but I did read that Byrne/Eno's "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" was a key reference point for them, and that has the Cabs all over it.
― Soukesian, Saturday, 3 May 2008 20:45 (fifteen years ago) link
No it doesn't, geez
― Niles Caulder, Friday, 24 April 2009 08:28 (fourteen years ago) link
they sound like music played by really shitty robots, like if you'd buried an early prototype of Kraftwerk in toxic sludge, then accidentally uncovered them two hundred years later and OH SHIT THEY'RE STILL ALIVE WHAT AN UNSPEAKABLY HORRIBLE EXISTENCE
The most brilliant description of the Cabs I've read thus far.
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Saturday, 9 May 2009 03:40 (fourteen years ago) link
They released a non-LP 12" - "Dream Ticket" b/w "Safety Zone". The a-side is kinda forgettable but the b-side is quite cool with it's middle eastern rhythms and samples.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 16:58 (fourteen years ago) link
oh yes. time to ditch the jazz for a while and revisit the cabs. ta for the nudge (watched Synth Brit earlier so was beginning to feel the urge)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fdSi_8ZgJE
dated my arse. still fresh.
― mark e, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 17:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Another obscure b-side to search is "Drink Your Poison". It easily could've fit on the "Drinking Gasoline" EP (though that was over 30 minutes already!). The vocals of this period were really interesting, with odd inflections and emphasis. Are any of the related solo works similar in style to "The Sword, The Covenant and the Arm Of the Lord"?
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 17:31 (fourteen years ago) link
Are any of the related solo works similar in style to "The Sword, The Covenant and the Arm Of the Lord"?
not that i am aware of, but would be glad to hear if anyone thinks otherwise.
my pain re the "drinking gasoline" ep as referenced earlier in the thread persists.
― mark e, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 17:40 (fourteen years ago) link
also, just realised that "dream ticket" you referred to is on the original sound of sheffield 83-87 compilation, but not the b-side .. having just given it a spin i agree its not all that, but will look out for the b-side (ie. check all the other comps for it)
― mark e, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 17:45 (fourteen years ago) link
I believe "Safety Zone" is on "Conform To Deform".
Also - I've got a "Drinking Gasoline" CD EP. Is that what you're looking for?
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 18:25 (fourteen years ago) link
yes. have never seen the cd version in all my years of searching.bravo.
― mark e, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 19:13 (fourteen years ago) link
forgot how great 'the covenant ... ' sounds. on headphones for the first time in 20+ years and its an absolute revelation.the CV weirdness but in widescreen production.
― mark e, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 20:34 (fourteen years ago) link
man I need to find a copy of that
Permalink
― latebloomer, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:49 (1 year ago)
I miss having Bimble around to wax enthusiastic on threads like these.
― sleeve, Wednesday, 21 October 2009 00:00 (fourteen years ago) link
^^^^ * 100
dug out the drain train ep from the archive.wasn't this the final release of the electro-funk era before they became more electronic/house?being the awkward buggers they are they decided to make one side 45rpm, the other 33rpm.
― mark e, Wednesday, 21 October 2009 08:16 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah, "Drain Train" was my jumping off point. I listened to it the other day and was underwhelmed. Frankly, "Code" itself is ok but not as otherworldly as "Sword, Covenant..." which for me was their peak. I've grown to love their early works as well but I'll always have a soft spot for the push-pull embracing of "accessibility" in their Virgin years.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 21 October 2009 12:24 (fourteen years ago) link
does anyone know where the sampled dialog used on "Gut Level" originates? Sounds like a 70s urban/drug/police movie or possibly documentary (which the Cabs were so fond of)
― kreidleresque, Sunday, 6 June 2010 15:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Just listened to a bit of "Groovy, Laidback and Nasty" on Spotify - I'd never heard it before. My instincts were correct, truly awful. Well, awful in so much as that sort of thing is decidedly NOT what I want from CV!
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 22 July 2011 12:12 (twelve years ago) link
They - or rather Richard H Kirk and Paul Smith - are reissuing all the Virgin albums through Mute.
― Conan The Asshander (Doran), Friday, 4 November 2011 16:58 (twelve years ago) link
Woohoo! Their Virgin years are my favorite period and ripe for rediscovery, it should find a new audience in the 21st century. Great disco-not-disco post-punk infused electronica.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 4 November 2011 20:08 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, they sound very 'now' to me. Thank You America, Crackdown, Sensoria, Yashar (John Robie), James Brown...
― Conan The Asshander (Doran), Friday, 4 November 2011 20:13 (twelve years ago) link
I have seriously been hoping for this for a decade now - considering the compilations of material from the Virgin years a short while back, I'm actually surprised that it took this long! I hope they somehow manage to get a reissue for Code, too. The other Manhattan/EMI album, don't care.
― Sean Carruthers, Friday, 4 November 2011 20:40 (twelve years ago) link
easily my fave era of the band but this is weird as the virgin era stuff has been pretty easy to pick up on cd ever since they were released.that aside, if it helps the guys get some long deserved TLC then i aint complaining.wonder if drinking gasoline will be released as a seperate release or as a bunch of extra trax spread across the releases ..
― mark e, Friday, 4 November 2011 22:26 (twelve years ago) link
I interviewed Richard H Kirk and Peter Care about Johnny YesNo Redux recently.
― Conan The Asshander (Doran), Monday, 7 November 2011 19:30 (twelve years ago) link
not Cabaret Voltaire w/o both Mallinder and Watson imo
― unlistenable in philly (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:01 (twelve years ago) link
still cabaret voltaire without watson but definitely not without mallinder.
― stirmonster, Monday, 7 November 2011 20:05 (twelve years ago) link
If you like.
― Conan The Asshander (Doran), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:08 (twelve years ago) link
exactly how is a Cabs record without Mal going to be any different from a RHK solo record...
.....apart from the massive press a new Cabs record will get...
― Night Nurse with Wound (Jack Battery-Pack), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:09 (twelve years ago) link
not that there's been anything announced...
― Night Nurse with Wound (Jack Battery-Pack), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:10 (twelve years ago) link
I love "Kino" so much tho
― dense macabre (DJP), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:10 (twelve years ago) link
there's good post-Watson stuff it's just that the CV I get most excited about is the one where there's a guy whose job is "tapes and samples" - you've heard Chris Watson's nature recordings, right? I know, that sounds dull, but they are awesome. Like, actually-listen-to-this-repeatedly awesome, not "oh how interesting" awesome. Outside the Circle of Fire is the one I know best but he's done a bunch of stuff: http://www.chriswatson.net/
― unlistenable in philly (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:13 (twelve years ago) link
lol you are responding to someone who had his life changed by Since The Accident and City Slab Horror, I'm not at all averse to tape loop stuff
I will admit tho that I was always more into glossy dancefloor Cabs than anything else, largely due to what I could find in record stores.
― dense macabre (DJP), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:17 (twelve years ago) link
yes, very familiar with chris watson's wondrous recordings and i love cv mk 1 but mk 2 post watson were truly great too.
― stirmonster, Monday, 7 November 2011 20:18 (twelve years ago) link
I can't lie: I love the Watson field recording stuff...but I still think CV post-Watson is still perfectly fine, though obviously a different beast than the early stuff. But CV without Mal isn't CV.
― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 7 November 2011 20:19 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― Conan The Asshander (Doran), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:20 (twelve years ago) link
I write off anyone who is not sat in a squat doing tape loop experiments tbh
― fill up ass of emoticon fart (crüt), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:21 (twelve years ago) link
What about Scritti?
― Conan The Asshander (Doran), Monday, 7 November 2011 20:22 (twelve years ago) link
Funny, it actually hit me after a recent Cab Volt jag. Always wondered where that third mantra got to.
did they have a AKS? weren't they crazily expensive at the time?
According to Wikipedia about £450 originally but worth thousands by the end of the 70s.
― "Third of the Storms" Jazz (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 3 January 2020 13:43 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhds6KtWZHE
New (RHK-only) album coming this fall. Sounds pretty good, but also not that different from all of his other project names.
― Doctor Madame Frances Experimento, LLC", Wednesday, 19 August 2020 15:23 (three years ago) link
this new album sounds very Virgin era CV, and rather different to the solo RHK material that i have heard (URP Vol 1-3, Truckers, Sandoz, Dasein, Electronic Eye), mainly due to the drums and complete lack of techno basslines.
― mark e, Saturday, 21 November 2020 16:00 (three years ago) link
that said, i am only halfway through the album, so, things could change of course.but so far its hitting the spot for me.
― mark e, Saturday, 21 November 2020 16:02 (three years ago) link
It brings to mind the Drinking Gasoline EP. It's solid but I miss Mal, so there's Wrangler for that.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 21 November 2020 18:39 (three years ago) link
I have only heard one track so far and that vaguely made me think of "Red Mecca". I miss Mal too and I do find it hard to really accept it as being CV without him.
― stirmonster, Saturday, 21 November 2020 18:42 (three years ago) link
GMB : exactly.it is very much of that era.there is little use of modern bass heavy production that i thought would be present.and while i get and understand the whole missing Mal thing, i subscribe to the CV (trio) -> CV (duo) -> CV (solo) path i have no issue with RHK using the name.as i said, this album sounds very different to a lot of the RHK solo material i have heard.(that said Dasein sounded like a CV album with its use of clipped guitars/samples)
― mark e, Saturday, 21 November 2020 19:16 (three years ago) link
Yes, it is fair enough really and I have engaged with several post Mal CV releases.
― stirmonster, Saturday, 21 November 2020 20:05 (three years ago) link
new 3 track ep, shadow of funk, is great.sonically it's more of the same as recent album (though with a lot more intensity in the beats/layers), so, if you weren't impressed, then no need.the 10+ minute 'skinwalker' could totally be from the 'drinking gasoline' era.
― mark e, Thursday, 18 March 2021 12:46 (three years ago) link
absolutely insane price for the digital edition.
(also, the 2 RHK albums on Warp are massively reduced as well .. )
https://bleep.com/release/265713-cabaret-voltaire-8385-collected-works-1983-1985
― mark e, Thursday, 28 December 2023 18:06 (three months ago) link
yesterday i got email re bleep/warp sale, after which i decided to get the 2 RHK albums as i have never seen cd editions out in the wild. earlier today i decided to check re Drinking Gasoline in remastered form as i have the tracks, but spread across various options.saw that DG was £3.50 and was about to purchase, when i thought i'd check the price re the Virgin era boxset, thinking it would be in the £20-30 range .. very very glad i checked .. best late xmas present to myself ever.
― mark e, Thursday, 28 December 2023 18:11 (three months ago) link
Low price because its actually 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Saturday, 30 December 2023 01:45 (three months ago) link