Cabaret Voltaire

Named after the Zürich club that hosted the events that birthed the Dada art movement in the 1910s, Cabaret Voltaire seemed as radical as their inspiration when the pioneering industrial and electronic act began performing in Sheffield in the mid-’70s. Tape loops, DIY gear, and performance art were part of the trio’s arsenal in their sometimes confrontational live shows. With 1979’s post-punk landmark “Nag Nag Nag” and other early recordings for the Rough Trade label, the trio of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson refined their attack, creating an aggressive, synth-driven sound intensified by Mallinder’s sinister vocals. By the time of their sixth album, Micro-Phonies, in 1984, they had absorbed the influence of early hip-hop and electro, resulting in left-field club hits like the mind-bending “Sensoria.” Though the band’s original run ended in 1995, Kirk released a new series of Cabaret Voltaire recordings and collaborations between 2009 and his death in 2021, providing a potent reminder of the group’s influence and impact.