Кабаре Вольтер: История электронной музыки из Шеффилда

English band

Cabaret Voltaire were an English music group formed in Sheffield in 1973 and initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson. Named for the Zürich nightclub that fostered the early Dada movement, the band are often characterized as among the most innovative and influential electronic acts of their era. After Watson's 1981 departure, the group continued as a two piece until disbanding in 1994. Kirk revived the name as a solo project from 2009 until his death in 2021.

By the early 1970s, Chris Watson of Sheffield, England, began experimenting with electronic devices to make "music without musical instruments." Inspired by Brian Eno of Roxy Music, and helped along by his work as a telephone engineer, Watson's experimentation with tape loops evolved to include custom built kit oscillators obtained by mail order by the time he met fellow Sheffield local and Eno devotee Richard Kirk. Kirk and Watson began exploring the intersection of technology and music, producing tapes loops to generate sound collages and unusual sound structures. Kirk began to add traditional instrumentation, including clarinet and guitar. In late 1973, they brought in Kirk's friend Stephen Mallinder to provide vocals and bass guitar. Some of these early experiments were first documented on the Industrial Records cassette 1974 1976 (1980), then later on the triple album CD set Methodology '74/'78: The Attic Tapes (Mute 2002). The band eventually turned to live performance, often sharing the bill with Joy Division, though much of their earliest public performance tended more towards being unconventional and provocative stunts rather than conventional shows. The trio would deploy to various parts of Sheffield with their portable tape recorders and play their experimental compositions in places as diverse as public toilets and on the streets from loudspeakers on the top of a friend's van. This raucous and punkish attitude followed the band onstage to great effect; their first live concert in May 1975 ended in a fight between the band and the audience that sent Mallinder to hospital. In 1977, Watson financed the establishment of the band's own recording studio on the second floor of a building called the Western Works on Portobello Street in Sheffield. The "Western Works" studio served as the band's studio for many years as well as providing a social gathering spot for the local Sheffield scene. Western Works produced some of the earliest recordings of pioneering local bands including Clock DVA, The Human League, and New Order. which included four songs: "Black Mask", "Greensborough", "Walls of Jericho" and "Jazz the Glass". During this time, Cabaret Voltaire toured Europe, Japan, and the United States without major record label support, releasing Hai!, a live album recorded in Japan, in 1982. In late 1982, Cabaret Voltaire decided consciously to turn in a more commercial direction. Introduced by New Order to the American dance music producer John Robie, Cabaret Voltaire enlisted him to remix "Yashar", a track from their 1982 album 2x45. The 12 inch single was released by Factory Records in May 1983, and received extensive play in dance clubs.

In 1983, Stevo Pearce signed the duo to his Some Bizzare label and leveraged a licensing deal with Virgin. The £50,000 advance from Some Bizzare allowed Kirk and Mallinder to significantly improve their operation at Western Works, but came with the stipulation of having to record their next LP in London and making certain production changes to their music. – over 60 places higher than their previous (and, at the time, only) chart placement. The album's single for "Just Fascination" peaked at number 74. In 1984, the singles "Sensoria" and "James Brown" from the album Micro Phonies charted on the UK Indie Chart, as well as getting play in the underground dance scene. The 12" mix of "Sensoria", co produced by Robin Scott of the new wave band M, was a vastly improved melding of two of the album's tracks, "Sensoria" and "Do Right". The video for the single was directed by Peter Care and earned significant air time and acclaim including a Los Angeles Times Best Video award for 1985. 1985 proved to be a busy year for the band with numerous releases as well as an American tour. Gasoline in your Eye was released that year, which was a compendium of singles videos along with prototype footage for the band's unfinished film "Earthshaker" and other band filmed footage put to unreleased Cabaret Voltaire music. A double 12" release was derived from the video and released as Drinking Gasoline. The band rounded out 1985 with a new album, The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord and its single, "I Want You," which would be the last releases for the band on Virgin.

By 1986, Virgin offered to extend Cabaret Voltaire's record contract, but EMI group signalled an intent to invest more in the group and the lure of increased resources through a major label proved irresistible. One of these resources was access to producer Adrian Sherwood, who produced 1987's Code and its singles "Don't Argue" and "Here to Go". Code also featured additional musicians including [[Bill Nelson (musician) on guitar and Mark Brydon on bass. While 1987 proved to be a successful year musically, in other respects the band was faltering. The decision was made to abandon the original Western Works studio after a series of break ins and the emergence of financial issues due to accounting problems from years before threatened to force a sale of their new studio. Additionally, Mallinder moved to London and took on more of a socialite lifestyle while Kirk remained in Sheffield. This formed a schism between the band members characterized by the extroverted Mallinder and the reluctant Kirk that was a mirror of the identity crisis of an experimental/unconventional band on the verge of going pop.

Prior to 1988, each member of Cabaret Voltaire had released several solo recordings under their own names, and Kirk had worked with Peter Hope of The Box on an album and single. The band's physical separation — with Kirk in Sheffield and Mallinder in London — and the burgeoning house and acid house movements opened new opportunities for solo collaborations. In 1988, Mallinder collaborated with Robert Gordon, co founder of Warp Records, and David Ball of Soft Cell on a one off house album under the name Love Street, and Kirk produced a solo acid house 12" as Wicky Wacky. The band's interest in house music created new connections for the band in America. After trying in vain to contact New York producer Todd Terry, an introduction was made by an Atlantic Records executive to Chicago house producer Marshall Jefferson. The introduction led to a cross Atlantic collaboration, with the members of Cabaret Voltaire spending a month in Chicago to produce material for their 1990 album Groovy, Laidback and Nasty. Marshall brought numerous guest artists into the album's production including Ten City and Kym Mazelle, and the lead single from the album — "Hypnotised" — featured remix talent from Fon Force (Mark Brydon and Robert Gordon), A Guy Called Gerald, and Daniel Miller. Despite the newfound energy and direction, the band amassed significant debt under EMI and the label dropped Cabaret Voltaire from their roster. The Technocrats with Ralf Dörper, XON with Robert Gordon, Citrus with Steve Cobby, and solo as Sandoz. Cabaret Voltaire returned to Les Disques Du Crépuscule to release the Body and Soul album in 1991. The album featured a more minimal sound than Groovy, Laidback and Nasty and was the last Cabaret Voltaire release to feature Mallinder on vocals. In 1991, the band entered an agreement with Mute Records to release new and past works from the band's own Plastex label imprint in the US. Between 1992 and 1994, the band released a trio of instrumental works.

In 2009, Kirk resurrected the Cabaret Voltaire name and released an album with New Zealand band Kora called Kora! Kora! Kora! and another with Sheffield band The Tivoli called National Service Rewind. The new material was recorded at Western Works studios. In July 2014, Berlin Atonal reported that Cabaret Voltaire were to perform at the festival. The performance – the first in twenty years – saw a set list of all new material performed by a line up "consisting solely of machines, multi screen projections and Richard H. Kirk", the lone remaining member of the 'group'. In early August 2016, Cabaret Voltaire performed an hour long set of otherwise unreleased material at the Dekmantel festival in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Circa 2017, the Coachella Festival made a significant offer to Kirk to reform the original Cabaret Voltaire for a reunion show. Kirk refused, stating that "Cabaret Voltaire was always about breaking new ground and moving forward. It would be so sad to see it as a nostalgia act." In August 2020, Cabaret Voltaire announced a new studio album Shadow of Fear. Backed by the first single "Vasto," the album was released on 20 November 2020. These are the first strictly Cabaret Voltaire recordings with Richard H. Kirk as the group's sole member. These were followed in 2021 by the release of a new EP, Shadow of Funk, and two albums, Dekadrone and BN9Drone. Richard Kirk died in September 2021 at the age of 65.

Acid Horse featuring Al Jourgensen, Chris Connelly and Bill Rieflin with Mallinder and Kirk. Hafler Trio featuring Watson. Sweet Exorcist featuring DJ Parrot and Kirk. Xon featuring Kirk.