Cabaret Voltaire : Classic Or Dud/Search and Destroy

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.

I am shocked that Bimble likes this band from the 80s

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.

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.

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.

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!!!!!!!

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

Ha! OTM!

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.

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.

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.

No it doesn't, geez

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.

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.

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.

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"?

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.

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)

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?

Also - I've got a "Drinking Gasoline" CD EP. Is that what you're looking for?

yes. have never seen the cd version in all my years of searching.
bravo.

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.

man I need to find a copy of that

Permalink

god i love this band

― latebloomer, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:49 (1 year ago)

I miss having Bimble around to wax enthusiastic on threads like these.

I miss having Bimble around to wax enthusiastic on threads like these.

^^^^ * 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.

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.

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)

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!

They - or rather Richard H Kirk and Paul Smith - are reissuing all the Virgin albums through Mute.

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.

Yeah, they sound very 'now' to me. Thank You America, Crackdown, Sensoria, Yashar (John Robie), James Brown...

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.

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 ..

I interviewed Richard H Kirk and Peter Care about Johnny YesNo Redux recently.

not Cabaret Voltaire w/o both Mallinder and Watson imo

still cabaret voltaire without watson but definitely not without mallinder.

If you like.

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...

not that there's been anything announced...

not Cabaret Voltaire w/o both Mallinder and Watson imo

I love "Kino" so much tho

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/

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.

yes, very familiar with chris watson's wondrous recordings and i love cv mk 1 but mk 2 post watson were truly great too.

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.

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.

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.

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)

Yes, it is fair enough really and I have engaged with several post Mal CV releases.

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.

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

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.

Low price because its actually 1989 (Taylor’s Version)