Cabaret Voltaire was an experimental music band which formed in Sheffield, … Read Full Bio ↴Cabaret Voltaire was an experimental music band which formed in Sheffield, UK in 1973. They originally consisted of Stephen Mallinder (vocals, bass), Richard H. Kirk (1956 - 2021; guitar, keyboards, sound manipulation) and Chris Watson (sound manipulation, tapes, keyboards).
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.
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.
Obsession
Cabaret Voltaire Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Cabaret Voltaire:
24 Turning out, beggars to eat me Cutting wood, coming to lure…
A Touch Of Evil You mesmerize slowly Till I can't believe my eyes Ecstasy co…
Bad Self i play tough rarely walk out in the day i'm soo hip closer…
Blue Heat Come into a dusty room. Sitting down with empty papers. Wipe…
Code Give me your code Tell me where did you come from Give…
Crackdown Scatter you, sweep your feet. Pick you up, and drag you…
Digital Rasta This could be the end of it all. There's a woman…
Digital Rasta (Remastered) "Digital Rasta" _Microphonies_ Cabaret Voltaire This could b…
Do Right Hold my ears against the wall, Cannot hear a word at…
Don't Argue Don't let it fool you. You are in enemy…
Expect Nothing i keep losing sleep on couches and floors because I hate…
Ghost Talk gohst talk were safe cut it out…
Happy Whatever you'll be, Be insistent Know your mind, Be co…
Here She Comes Now Now, she ever comes now now She ever comes now…
Here To Go Oh, here to go Sharpen up, relax Oh, here to go Lighten u…
Here To Go (Live Drum Jackknife Mix) Ooh, let me show ya Let me show you the way…
Hypnotised What good is sitting Alone in your room? Come hear the music…
I Want You mmmm yes ii want to get closer to kiss her close the door…
Intro "Sensoria"_Microphonies_Cabaret Voltaire His head is no…
Intro (Live) "Sensoria"_Microphonies_Cabaret Voltaire His head is not hi…
James Brown Everything. Devoured. I learn to hold my, will power. Every…
Just Fascination Slipping into new disguise, Your eyes know, your body lies. …
Keep On Hagar Sammy Nine On A Ten Scale Keep On Rockin' J. Carter…
Kino awesome…
Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Nag Home again …
No Escape Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide I can't kill this…
Premonition I want you..ready to die…
Searchin' Oh I see you there Eyes closed, going nowhere If you never…
Sensoria His head is not his memory. Visions coming, one, two, three.…
Sex Money Freaks sex money freaks…
Silent Command Ca something let me rigger Can na be nucking all me…
Sleep Walking sleepwalking…
Spies in the Wires Ingenuity my secret rival. Fly, fly, and I am waiting. She s…
Thank You America Something said what a man walking on Everything he can Caugh…
The Heat Come into a dusty room. Sitting down with empty papers. Wipe…
The Operative You were never found to be backward Or wanting in anyway Y…
The Operative (Remastered) You were never found to be backward Or wanting in anyway You…
Trust In The Lord Oh, but you shouldn't laugh just as if you knew So…
Warm mmmm yes ii want to get closer to kiss her close the door fe…
Why Kill Time Why kill time when you can kill yourself? A motor stops,…
•Crackdown Scatter you, sweep your feet. Pick you up, and drag you…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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Sensoria1
the best industrial band, great song, great video
fuzzface100
Fantastic avant garde track and awesome bassline. Cabaret Voltaire are so underrated. I miss them so much.
Jeremy
Thanks...I love Cabaret Voltaire as well and I would say especially their older material as well. I first heard of them in 1991 when I saw the video Sensoria/Do Right on USA networks Night Flight but that was edited. I was so damn happy to find it here as well as other stuff that I have not seen also. I'm going to go watch Doublevision Present; Cabaret Voltaire again... It's been a while since I put the dvd on... Take care and again thanks for the comments! :)
fishermane
That's a great song, and a surprisingly great video. Nice hook up man. I love Cabaret-Voltaire, especially their older material...
doktorsawade
Their best period represented here, thank you for uploading this gem
scanner1978
More tha 2 years seeing this video and others from the same dvd and I still fascinated about the feeling of this group.They really loves art. Real attitude, real underground.
djbethell
Feel like I just lived that moment with you. Great description of youth in the early eighties!
54spiritedwill54
nice, One of CV's best videos indeed.
DAN KYL
A great band i ve got all the vinyls from this period of my life,i feel good listening...
neocoders
I remember when I was twelve, in 1982, my sister's cool boyfriend played Cabaret Voltaire while I would look through all his freaky picture books on things like cold war aircraft. Stuck in my little head. Now I'm going to search for "sluggin for jesus" or whatever it was called ;)