Sensoria Overload

Last year saw the release and our review of Killing Joke’s singles compilation, an awesome volume distilling the band’s influence and skill across multiple genres. Now another foundation act with a hydra-like legacy—Sheffield electronic group Cabaret Voltaire—is out to put a nice little bow on things for their diehards and neophytes alike, collecting singles and favorites on #7885 (Electropunk to Technopop 1978-1985).

Part of an ongoing CV reissue project led by Mute Records and the band’s remaining active member/evangelist Richard H. Kirk, #7885 traces just how far and fast they pushed the envelopes of electronic performance and arrangement, dour and politicized art, and production technologies both lo- and hi-fi. Plenty of compilations exist claiming to map out some version of The History of Electronic Music; Cabaret Voltaire achieve the feat in just the first nine songs here, bringing listeners to musique concrete (“Kneel to the Boss”), Krautrock (“Do the Mussolini”), post-punk (“Silent Command”), synthpop (“Nag Nag Nag”) and industrial (“The Set Up”), before ultimately leaving them at house music’s doorstep (“Breathe Deep”).

“Breathe Deep” wraps up the portion of the album concerned with CV’s work on the Rough Trade label and with original third member Chris Watson. The rest of #7885 covers Cabaret Voltaire’s time as a duo on the Some Bizzare and Virgin labels, a period marked by more polished production, constant editing of songs down to single length, and Stephen Mallinder’s prominent vocals. Kirk’s curation highlights CV’s knack for a snarling groove in songs like “Just Fascination,” “Crackdown,” “James Brown” and “Sensoria.” It’s a credit to both Kirk and Mallinder, however, that we can hear unflinchingly similar energies traverse their career—compare, for example, a v1.0 track like “On Every Other Street” with v2.0 work like 1985’s “Big Funk.”

In light of hearing their greatest hits last year, Killing Joke’s songs and sounds regularly pushed their way into public consciousness—or at least felt like they could do so—and the work of others following after would seem derivative. The career presented on #7885 feels like one that others would use as an inspiration or foundation to drive themselves to greatness, with the originators’ material and reputation left to the whispers of history. It seems unfair that work of this quality and importance risks being ignored or underappreciated; it’s time for the noise made about Cabaret Voltaire to rise to a scream.