Over the years Cabaret Voltaire's music continued to evolve, from its experimental, Velvet Underground-inspired beginnings in the mid 1970s to the pop-oriented dance music in the early 1990s. Each consequent phase saw the band pushing the boundaries of its time, proving highly influential for the many electronic artists that followed in its footsteps. The band pioneered many techniques that for years fuelled industrial music and consequent electronic genres such as house and techno. Among these were the cut-up techniques of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, using snippets of spoken word (pre-dating sampling), and incorporating experimental video in their live shows (pre-dating VJ-ing).
The band first came to public attention in the late 1970s, during the era of post-punk and industrial music, with their debut album Mix-Up (1979) and the EP Nag Nag Nag with its seminal noise-punk title track. They honed their style with the follow-up albums Voice of America (1980) and Red Mecca (1981).
The early 1980s was an important transitional phase for the band, as it shifted towards more structured dance music. In late 1981, halfway during the recording of the album 2X45 (released in 1982), Watson left the group, which continued as a duo until their (de facto) disbandment in 1994.
In 1983, with the album The Crackdown, the Cabs switched labels from Rough Trade to Virgin and started using increasingly more digital technology. A prime example is their industrial funk dance floor hit Sensoria from 1984, which got picked up by MTV and saw the band starting to infiltrate the mainstream.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s Cabaret Voltaire continued their trajectory towards dance pop incorporating house and techno styles, with many tracks like Easy Life and later Colours fusing hooks with all the excitement of the then burgeoning rave scene in the UK.
By 1994, on the duo's last album The Conversation, Mallinder's input had become insignificant and he left the band after its release. From then on until his death in 2021, Kirk had sole legal ownership of the Cabaret Voltaire name. His view was that, as Watson and Mallinder had both left the band, he was left to carry it on. He used the name for remix projects of Kora and The Tivoli in 2010, and for the albums Shadow Of Fear (2020), Dekadrone (2021) and BN9Drone (2021).
Kirk had a staggering amount of solo outings under various names. His Sweet Exorcist collaboration with DJ Parrot opened the doors for Warp Records in their "bleep" days, was the harbinger for the sonic experimentation of Aphex Twin, Autechre, The Black Dog, and more. Other solo projects of Kirk were Sandoz, Biochemical Dread, Bit Crackle, Blacworld, Chemical Agent, Cold Warrior and Dark Magus, to name but a few.
Mallinder has since been involved in various projects, such as Ku-Ling Bros., Sassi & Loco, Hey, Rube! and most recently Wrangler.
As well as working on his own aural experiments, Watson now works as a critically-acclaimed sound recordist, developing some innovative techniques for Natural History radio and TV, such as the BBC's Galapagos series in 2006.
A Touch Of Evil
Cabaret Voltaire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Till I can't believe my eyes
Ecstasy controls me
What you give just serves me right
Without warning you're here
Like magic you appear
I taste the fear
I'm so afraid
But I still feed the flame
In the night
Come to me
You know I want your touch of evil
In the night
Please set me free
I can't resist a touch of evil
Aroused with desire
You put me in a trance
A vision of fire
I never had a chance
A dark angel of sin
Preying deep from within
Come take me in
I'm so afraid
But I still feed the flame
In the night
Come to me
You know I want your touch of evil
In the night
Please set me free
I can't resist a touch of evil
Arousing me now with a sense of desire
Possessing my soul till my body's on fire
A dark angel of sin
Preying deep from within
Come take me in
I'm so afraid
But I still feed the flame
You're possessing me
The lyrics to Cabaret Voltaire's song "A Touch of Evil" seem to be about a sensual and dangerous attraction. The singer is drawn in by this person who mesmerizes them slowly and puts them in a trance. The person's ecstasy controls them, and the singer can't resist the touch of evil that they bring.
Despite feeling afraid and knowing the dark nature of this attraction, the singer still feeds the flame and wants to be set free by this touch of evil. The lyrics suggest that this desire is both arousing and consuming, with the person possessing the singer's soul until their body is on fire.
Overall, the song seems to be exploring the idea that sometimes we can be drawn to things that scare and thrill us at the same time, even if they may not be ultimately good for us. It's a dark and alluring track that captures the seductive power of danger.
Line by Line Meaning
You mesmerize slowly
Your seductive ways captivate me slowly
Till I can't believe my eyes
Until I become completely entranced and can't believe what I'm seeing
Ecstasy controls me
A feeling of intense pleasure is taking over me
What you give just serves me right
What you're giving me is exactly what I deserve
Without warning you're here
You appear suddenly and without any advance indication
Like magic you appear
You seem to materialize out of nowhere like a sorcerer's trick
I taste the fear
In spite of my fear, I am pulled in by your attraction
I'm so afraid
I am scared, anxious, and worried
But I still feed the flame
Despite my fear, I still pursue and indulge in this attraction
In the night
Under the cover of darkness
Come to me
Approach me and draw me closer
You know I want your touch of evil
You are aware that I desire your alluring yet questionable actions
Please set me free
Despite my entrapment, release me from this spell
I can't resist a touch of evil
As forbidden as it may be, I am unable to resist being drawn in by what you have to offer
Aroused with desire
My attraction for you has been heightened to a great degree
You put me in a trance
You have an inexplicable ability to envelop me in an altered state of consciousness
A vision of fire
I have a vivid and intense image of passion and danger in my mind
I never had a chance
I am powerless and had no ability to resist you
A dark angel of sin
You are like an angel in your appearance, yet you are sinfully tempting
Preying deep from within
Your seduction goes beyond surface level and extends deep within my psyche
Come take me in
Give in to your temptations and bring me into your world
Arousing me now with a sense of desire
I am being stimulated and tempted right now, filled with a longing for something more
Possessing my soul till my body's on fire
You have taken control of my very essence and spirit, lighting a flame within me that cannot be put out
You're possessing me
I am under your spell and cannot resist or escape from what you have stirred within me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HENRY NICOLA MANCINI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kuno
on Expect Nothing
Wrong artist dumbass