Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: When Cabaret Voltaire returned to the release schedule in 2020 as the one-man Richard H Kirk show, fans were relieved to find that mind-bending meld of 1970s Kosmische, techno, dub, house and space-age experimental electro was as pure as it ever has been - the results being a typically fresh and forward-thinking record the man in question summed up as "no nostalgia... normal rules do not apply. Something for the 21st Century. No old material."

Less than six months later and the big CV has more next level business to offer us, coming in the form of Shadow of Funk, a new EP that offers something of a counterpoint or extension to last year's full-length, Shadow of Fear. Based on 'Billion Dollar' alone - an acid-driven big, dark room banger that closes this EP -this release looks set to make an equally heavy impact, but as with anything this man touches, the joy is in discovery. So, let's leave it at that.

Review: London's legendary Mute institution goes back to its roots and digs up some of the best work by one of the UK's finest Cabaret Voltaire. These guys don't really need an introduction give the fact that they're pretty much responsible for the rise of post-punk right through to the birth of techno. It was about time a new compilation of their stuff was released, especially one as brutally on-point as this one! All the classics such as "Nag Nag Nag", "Kneel To The Boss" and "On Every Other Street" are one here but the more obscure rarities that were previously only available on 7" are the real winners. "Just Fascination", for example, is one you'll certainly want on a longer, re-mastered cut! Downright essential!

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Borrowing its name from a far right militant organisation dedicated to Christian identity and survivalism, active int he USA in the 1970s and early-80s, The Covenant is a Cabaret Voltaire album in every way, shape and form. Number seven from the band, it landed in 1985 through Some Bizarre Records, a fitting name for the imprint given the contents here, which push the boundaries of synth pop and new wave to the very edge of understanding, while still remaining wholly listenable, danceable, and accessible.

Such was the genius of the late Richard H. Kirk, RIP. Then, as now, this might not be everyone, particularly tracks like the rather haunting and Neo-industrial 'Whip Blow', although fare such as 'Motion Rotation' could easily get any room full of any people onto their feet. Nevertheless, it's testament to just how incredibly creative and bold the Cab Vol vision was. And still is.

Review: Borrowing its name from a far right militant organisation dedicated to Christian identity and survivalism, active int he USA in the 1970s and early-80s, The Covenant is a Cabaret Voltaire album in every way, shape and form. Number seven from the band, it landed in 1985 through Some Bizarre Records, a fitting name for the imprint given the contents here, which push the boundaries of synth pop and new wave to the very edge of understanding, while still remaining wholly listenable, danceable, and accessible.

Such was the genius of the late Richard H. Kirk, RIP. Then, as now, this might not be everyone, particularly tracks like the rather haunting and Neo-industrial 'Whip Blow', although fare such as 'Motion Rotation' could easily get any room full of any people onto their feet. Nevertheless, it's testament to just how incredibly creative and bold the Cab Vol vision was. And still is.

Review: With hindsight, Cabaret Voltaire's move towards synth pop and electro on Micro-Phonies feels entirely logical. They would arc further with the development of electronic music into the 90s, and Richard H Kirk was also pushing this sound in some of his solo works. Prior album The Crackdown had already hinted at the direction, and now Cabs were stepping out of the post-punk murk to deliver hooks, floor-friendly rhythm sections and plenty of machine funk. Industrial die hards at the time might have been outraged, but on balance this is still the edgy end of the synth pop spectrum, and even at their poppiest they were never a banal concern. From 'Do Right' and 'James Brown' to 'Sensoria' and 'Spies In The Wires', Micro-Phonies is jam packed full of incredible tracks, and ranks amongst Kirk and Mallinder's finest work.

Review: In 1979, Cabaret Voltaire - then consisting of all three founder members, Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson - recorded a soundtrack for an experimental film "for two projectors" by Babeth Mondini. 40 years on, that soundtrack has finally been given a release. It's similar in tone to some of the Sheffield experimentalists' other soundtrack work from the period, offering discordant, unsettling and otherworldly sound collages that fuse heavily modified and processed instrumental parts (guitar, bass, drums, clarinet, saxophone) with tape loops, sampled dialogue and the band's ever-present electronic tones. Whether you're an obsessive Cabs fan or not, it's well worth a listen. This is, after all, a slice of previously hidden musical history.

Review: RECOMMENDED
When electronic hero Richard H. Kirk returned in 2020 under the Cabaret Voltaire moniker - changing band to solo project for the first record in 26 years, Shadow of Fear - it couldn't have been more apt. Known for exploring darker and more visceral ends of synthdom, the musical boundary-pusher delivered a record that was alarming, challenging and completely unique, confirming that old habits really do die hard.

12 months or so later and the world is still trapped in the chaotic mess it was when that LP dropped, but Kirk has clearly opted to explore new ideas and break yet more new ground. Dekadrone lives up to its name, offering four lengthy movements that showcase the effectiveness of refrains and the musicality that can be created, or found, in extended notes and ongoing atmospheres. Another work of staggering genius.

Review: Richard H Kirk was rightly praised for 2020's Shadow of Fear, his first album since turning Cabaret Voltaire into a solo project back in 2014, and his recently follow-up EP, Shadow of Funk. Both distilled the essence of the Cabs' club-friendly industrial funk sound, re-formatting it for the 21st century. Dekadrone, though, is a different proposition altogether. Focused not on clubs but on immersive home listening, the four-phase, single track set removes Kirk's clanking, often paranoid beats in favour of dystopian aural textures (think dark, droning tones, abstract electronics, apocalyptic ambience and dirt-encrusted samples). Those who prefer the Cabs' more experimental, ambient-leaning works will love it.

Review: The arrival of a new Cabaret Voltaire album - the first since 1994 according to our records - should excite all those who hold the work of the pioneering Sheffield outfit dear. It's now a solo project from Richard H Kirk (he decided to keep the name after parting company with Stephen Mallinder in the late '90s), but the distinctive stylistic ticks remain (think paranoid sonic textures, metallic percussion hits, clear dub influences, plentiful spoken word samples, curious electronic noises and nods towards the industrial funk, EBM and post-punk). Naturally it's not as ground-breaking as Kirk and company's work in the '70s and '80s, but it is undeniably a Cabaret Voltaire album - and one that subtly updates the Cabs' particular brand of dense, dancefloor-ready paranoia for a new century.

Review: Vince Clarke (Erasure, Yazoo, Depeche Mode, The Assembly) presents his first ever solo album, Songs of Silence. As the album title suggests, it's a lyricless (though not vocal-free) instrumental album, and unlike anything you might've previously heard before from Clarke as an artisan of dynamic electropop. Rather, this LP brings with it a comparatively sober ambient electronic beauty, its unique characteristics lending it a category of its own. But two self-imposed oblique strategies underpinned its creation - first, that the sounds Clarke generated for the album would come solely from Eurorack (a modular synthesizer format introduced in the mid-90s), and second, that each track would be based around one note, maintaining a single key throughout.

Review: Trailed as a direct sequel to his previous solo album, 2017's "Avanti", "Volume Massimo" sees Nine Inch Nails member Alessandro Cortini offer up another immersive trip through droning guitar textures, repetitive synthesizer motifs, exotic sitar parts and fuzzy electronics. It's effectively a series of "maximal" instrumental soundscapes with sounds so large and layered they rise above the "meditative" tag pushed by Mute's PR team. This is no criticism, though, just a reflection that while contemplative at times, one of the most joyous things about the album is Cortini's ability to build thrilling walls of sound.