As Cabaret Voltaire, last remaining member Richard H. Kirk has announced he will be releasing a new EP called Shadow of Funk, out digitally February 26 via Mute records. It’s a follow-up to last year’s Shadow of Fear LP, which had been the first new album under the Cabaret Voltaire name in 26 years. Along with the announcement, Cabaret Voltaire also shared a single called “Billion Dollar” from the upcoming three-song EP.

The new track builds up an industrial techno groove that would definitely have fit in on Shadow of Fear. Wet synth bass and other synth parts repeat throughout, oscillating and filling out the track, along with a part that goes off occasionally like a distorted alarm sound. It’s a nearly six-minute instrumental, but the trancelike atmosphere sustains it.

Now that Kirk’s using the Cabaret Voltaire name again, he’s turning Shadow of Fear into the first of a four-part series including Shadow of Funk and two drone albums slated for release this spring. Both drone releases are approximately hour-long pieces, Dekadrone, due March 26, and BN9Drone, due April 23. They’ll be available on CD as well as limited edition double vinyl.

Pre-orders are currently available for Shadow of Funk, including a colored vinyl edition of the release. While Kirk has commented to say that he had recorded most of the pieces before COVID-19 upset things, he believes that his recent output feels like it was written after the effects of it set in, “Maybe due to my nature of being a bit paranoid there are hints in there about stuff going a bit weird and capturing the current state of affairs.” The new techno-influenced material was inspired by his touring throughout the 2010s, and he had wanted to bring that new energy to the Cabaret Voltaire name, “The mission statement from the off was no nostalgia. Normal rules do not apply. Something for the 21st Century. No old material.”

Shadow of Funk Track List:

1. Shadow of Funk
2. Skinwalker
3. Billion Dollar