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.

Silent Command
Cabaret Voltaire Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ca something let me rigger
Can na be nucking all me nicha
Rip that shiz of me
Senat pa inner ta
Anniz knicker
Ani posa secret achaive
Rip Yeah

Silent Command Silent Command
Silent command I did a fart
And it is disgusting and hard its sure

Silent Command

Going to a new moral texted Alma
Got a dang
Such a dutch town
So shiny
Command

Silent command Silent command
Come on then and Ill meet you
Such a bad moo
Touch enough time
I cant afford enough time
So shiny

Give everybody a chance

Since Ive been farting it
And lost the power to your distant power
Full of beating my bum

Silent

Silent Command Silent Command
Silent

Silent my bum
Silent Command

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Cabaret Voltaire's song Silent Command are nonsensical and seemingly disconnected, making it difficult to offer a straightforward interpretation. The words may simply be a stream of consciousness collage, showcasing the use of surreal imagery and random phrases reflecting life's absurdity. The lyrics could be read as a commentary on societal and political control, perhaps suggesting that even something as small as bodily functions like farting can be regulated or muted.

The use of the phrase "Silent Command" throughout the song could signify the notion of subliminal messaging, as messages communicated subconsciously can influence behavior. The repetition of these words can be interpreted as a way of emphasizing the theme of suppression and control, with the "Silent Command" being the tool deployed to achieve this aim.

Overall, the lyrics are open to multiple interpretations and could be viewed as an example of avant-garde poetry, exploring the themes of alienation, individualism, and societal control.

Line by Line Meaning

Ca something let me rigger
Can something activate me

Can na be nucking all me nicha
Cannot be harming all my people

Rip that shiz of me
Remove that nonsense from me

Senat pa inner ta
Suggest something from within

Anniz knicker
Cannot keep secrets

Ani posa secret achaive
Anything possible to achieve secretly

Rip Yeah
Remove it, yes

Silent Command Silent Command
Requesting for complete silence

Silent command I did a fart
Follow the unspoken rules, I have passed gas

And it is disgusting and hard its sure
It is unpleasant and definite

Going to a new moral texted Alma
Heading to a different ideology called Alma

Got a dang
Encountered trouble

Such a dutch town
A similar town

So shiny
Very clean

Command
Rule it

Come on then and Ill meet you
Let's meet to discuss further

Such a bad moo
A bad situation

Touch enough time
Very little time left

I cant afford enough time
It is not possible to take any more time

Give everybody a chance
Let everyone have an opportunity

Since Ive been farting it
Since I have been disregarding social norms

And lost the power to your distant power
My distant power is getting weaker

Full of beating my bum
Subject to humiliation

Silent
Absolute quietness requested

Silent Command Silent Command
Reiteration of absolute silence

Silent my bum
Please stop making my bum noisy

Silent Command
Complete silence requested

Writer(s): Richard Harold Kirk, Stephen William Mallinder, Christopher Richard Watson

Contributed by Kaylee E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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