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Cabaret Voltaire
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 6, 2021
As a time capsule, this is great, although it's been rendered mostly inessential (you can find an endless amount of articles, interviews, reviews, videos, live documents from Cabaret Voltaire online now).
Still, the book captures that great midway point after Watson left and Mallinder and Kirk were going from dark rooms of the underground and into the club scenes around the world, with electro-dance albums like "The Crackdown" and "Micro-Phonies".
The band even flirted with the mainstream in the form of "Sensoria" and the after-effects of that "hit" are talked about here, as are all the trappings of the era (punk rock in hindsight, defining industrial music, music videos, major labels, cleaning up their sound, Mallinder's voice, Kirk's habits).
Burroughs gets talked about, as well as band influences beyond a musical level. I love all the stuff about Doublevision (the band's label), Western Works (the band's studio), and Peter Care (the band's video director). Their early years before punk spent in the attic with tape recorders. Their peers in Throbbing Gristle and at Factory Records. The band's methodology, division, and roles, then and now. Where they want to take their music. Etc.
I mostly have a fondness for this book because it's a product from its era. Black print on cheap paper, high contrast photos, typeset interviews with a band that would rather do than talk about doing (or what they have done). It's a lost remnant of outsider culture. It looks and feels great, the first edition, anyway.
I'm rarely nostalgic, but once-upon-a-time this band genuinely felt dangerous, disturbed, and cryptic and this book does a good job reflecting the end of the era where their music, image, and personality reflected all those qualities.
I'm not so hot on The Cabs post-Arm of the Lord (although their penultimate track on The Conversation, "Project 80" is a must) but this era is fascinating for what grew out of the dada + noise.
Still, the book captures that great midway point after Watson left and Mallinder and Kirk were going from dark rooms of the underground and into the club scenes around the world, with electro-dance albums like "The Crackdown" and "Micro-Phonies".
The band even flirted with the mainstream in the form of "Sensoria" and the after-effects of that "hit" are talked about here, as are all the trappings of the era (punk rock in hindsight, defining industrial music, music videos, major labels, cleaning up their sound, Mallinder's voice, Kirk's habits).
Burroughs gets talked about, as well as band influences beyond a musical level. I love all the stuff about Doublevision (the band's label), Western Works (the band's studio), and Peter Care (the band's video director). Their early years before punk spent in the attic with tape recorders. Their peers in Throbbing Gristle and at Factory Records. The band's methodology, division, and roles, then and now. Where they want to take their music. Etc.
I mostly have a fondness for this book because it's a product from its era. Black print on cheap paper, high contrast photos, typeset interviews with a band that would rather do than talk about doing (or what they have done). It's a lost remnant of outsider culture. It looks and feels great, the first edition, anyway.
I'm rarely nostalgic, but once-upon-a-time this band genuinely felt dangerous, disturbed, and cryptic and this book does a good job reflecting the end of the era where their music, image, and personality reflected all those qualities.
I'm not so hot on The Cabs post-Arm of the Lord (although their penultimate track on The Conversation, "Project 80" is a must) but this era is fascinating for what grew out of the dada + noise.
October 23, 2022
This book may be outdated as it was published in 1989. With internet it makes it maybe even more outdated. But this book is a goldmine to fans who enjoy the early years of experimentation and cut up. So to any CV fans, if you can find this book I would recommend picking it up and reading it. You will not be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews