Radiation

Performer: Cabaret Voltaire
Distributor: City Hall

Notes: Cararet Voltaire: Stephen Mallinder (vocals, bass); Richard H. Kirk (electric guitar, electric violin, saxophone, synthesizer, sequencing, programming). Producers include: John Sparrow, Dale Griffin, Barry Andrews. Engineers include: Martyn Parker, Mike Engles, Nick Gromm. Personnel: Stephen Mallinder (vocals); Richard H. Kirk (electric guitar, electric violin, saxophone, synthesizer, programming, sequencer); Mark Tattersall (drums, percussion); Alan Fisch (drums). This collection of vintage industrial techno features one of the pioneers of the genre in several sessions recorded for the BBC between 1984 and '86. With their skeletal yet still rhythmically complex instrumentation, tracks like "You Like to Torment Me" and "Ruthless" have an angular, live-in-the-studio feel that contrasts with Cabaret Voltaire's contemporaneous recordings, with only "Sensoria" bearing much resemblance to its studio-created doppelganger. (A slashing run through "Sex Money Freaks" is considerably more disturbing than the comparatively placid original.) Recorded during the most artistically successful period of Cabaret Voltaire's long career, RADIATION is a worthy archival release. The most peculiar thing about Cabaret Voltaire was that the band, so reliant on electronics and tapes, actually thrived in live settings. Whereas most electronic acts never leave the studio, Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder released nearly as many live albums as they did studio recordings, using the stage as a forum to expand and pervert ideas touched on in the less chaotic studio crucible. It therefore follows that Cabaret Voltaire's BBC RECORDINGS, made for such programs as the John Peel Show, share little more than titles and a few basic building blocks with the band's studio tracks. Of the 13 tracks, only "Sensoria" bears much resemblance to its studio-created doppelganger. And a slashing run through "Sex Money Freaks" is considerably more disturbing than the comparatively placid original. Recorded during the most artistically successful era of Cabaret Voltaire's long career, The BBC RECORDINGS is a worthy archival release.

Building on the template provided by the early-'70s krautrock movement, Britain's Richard H. Kirk and his cohorts charted an electronic course through industrial dissonance, indie dance, creepy ambient, and film soundtracks. Able to work in a variety of styles but with common themes, Cabaret Voltaire built up a large, consistently interesting body of work.

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