‘OUR FIRST EVER LIVE SHOW IN 1975 GOT OUITE UGLY'
Life's a cabaret
Neil Cooper talks to Richard H Kirk as he gears up to play Cabaret Voltaire, the club named after his former band
iehard ll Kirk is talking about how his old band
inspired the names ot- not one. bill two elubs.
'l‘he taet that ('abaret Voltaire. the eleetronie pioneers l‘ormed b_\ Kirk in l‘)7()s Shellield with Stephen Mallinder and ('hris \Vatson themsel\es took their name l‘rom the /.urieh speak-eas) opened in I‘Hb as a hotbed ol~ Dada aeti\'it_\'. adds e\ en more weight to their a\ant-hedonist eredentials.
(‘V's best-known work. the primiti\e bubblegum garage band squeleh ol~ '.\'ag. .\'ag. Nag'. beearne the unlikel} anthem ol~ London’s \Vednesda} night beautil‘ul people’s hang-out ol‘ the same name. With a DJ .set b} a one-time member ot‘ (‘abaret Voltaire lthe bandl being something ot' a eoneeptual gag. not to sa_\ eoup. tor the third anni\ersar_\ ol‘ lidinbtu'gh's (‘abaret Voltaire (the elubl. the rest of the world. it seems. has linall} eaught up with Kirk.
‘\Ve did our lilt.‘ he s;t}s til~ (‘abaret VoltaireK intluenee. 'It was a bit of a ehallenge. but it’s niee that people remember. We were ahead of the paek. to the extent that our lirst e\'er li\e show in W75 got quite ugl}. and ended in total ma} hem. That's when we knew we were onto something.’
Cabaret Voltaire were founded on a Burroughsian eut- up aesthetie applied to repetitix'e beats long bet‘ore
mainstream sampling utilised the same sense ol'
piek'n‘mix eollage tor the daneel'loor. ;\s arthouse— experimental and grim-up-north intelleetual as the} were meanquid-mood}. euphorie. paranoid. funk} and se\)-;is-liell. often on the same traek. (‘V's e\tensi\e back eatalogue can now be .seen as the missing link between Can. Krat‘tw'erk and Lee 'Serateh‘ Perr} on the
one hand. and (‘hieago and Detroit house and teehno meisters sueh as .\larshall .lel‘l'erson and Derrick Ma). w ho adored them. on the other.
'.‘\ lot ol~ people were quite snobbish about danee musief Kirk remembers. ‘But we couldn't see an} point in repeating what w e‘d alread} done. \Ve could either go up our own arses and become more esoterie. or else open up and beeonte more aeeessible. ('hieago and Detroit were looking to that. whieh helped e\ol\e what beeame house inusie'
Sinee ('V's mid-Ulls demise. Kirk has operated under .‘ll-Utltl aliases HI] twiee as man} releases. Soul .la/l Reeords released two albums ol' reggae-inspired digi- dub under the Sando/ name. while. as Sweet l'.\oreist. Kirk‘s I‘Nl (‘('l-.'I’ album was the lust long-plaVer released on \Varp.
ll‘liLWL' tltt} \. Kll’k releases llldtL‘l'lttl \chl} llll'tttlgll llls website. w w w.riehardhkirkeoni. His most reeent outings. ‘Burning The Words Part I and 2.‘ were released under his Vaseo de .\lento disguise. while three albums are pending. l’or a hint ol~ where Kirk‘s llL‘thl'\ ill just now. llC C(‘lllvk‘\\C\ tt penehant till the baek-alle) alter-hours dubstep ol Burial's reeent album.
"\VL‘ \\ L‘l'L‘ ‘dll lilg‘ ltllls Ul‘ dub.‘ stt} s Kll‘k till his ltll'lllcl' band's inl‘luenees. ‘.~\ll this stul’l' based round a monstrous bassline. But people shouldn't e\peet me to pla} tour to the floor stul't~ or minimal teehno or an} ol that. .-\t m} age it'll be hard enough not being mistaken l'or an ol‘li—dut} eopperf
Richard H Kirk at Cabaret Voltaire/Sugar Beat’s joint third birthday, Fri 29 Feb.
THE BEST DANCEFLOOR ACTION
picks
Beatrooti
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Kapital Natlw: i an; headlines this l‘Lrirtimr ’
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showcase r,‘ seftfwi Want-x, 3N": Drains. l'w: (41.41,. f-ntr'tmi”,l".
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Numbers Wit/:2 ablmaran'w. T's“) tort.
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Inner City Acid iC/a. mi; .: gr; on to Its "ué:ri1!:e‘:ri’l "UN: We month. r,,' .’/":l’,'0l.':=.' g aczrl techno and m, not. gin. lgi'fl; Vii/EFT V’Ql Ill“: ‘:."’:ll',':g. SOU'E‘WQLJS. 6.5139931. SE13 5' 1253’.
VEGAS! As it the g‘IWCIH' Backstage's new: xxasr ': enough. here's aroma-r reason to iron your Satur' a; nest. We Fern: G’asgo.zc Sat 8 Mar.
' :' -' THE LIST 35