Cabaret Voltaire-the Crackdown

CABARET VOLTAIRE-THE CRACKDOWN(1983) Such is the Cabaret Voltaire’s back catalogue, I could have picked any album from their back catalogue to discuss. Like with Simple Minds there is two era’s. The Chris Watson era of experimentation of noise collages, then there is the dance/electronic/trance(delete as appropriate) era from 1983 onwards. With Cabaret Voltaire there sound was grouped in with punk, but was also grouped in with Industrial. There sound was always in several genre’s. How many acts from the early 80s had such a varied sound and could say that? The departure of Chris Watson forced Cabaret Voltaire into rethinking where to go on from there in late 1981. They joined forces with Dave Bell(soft cell) and set about bringing a more danceable element to their sound. There music had always had a slight funk/bass sound due to Mallinders bass playing but from the Crackdown the keyboards were definately more upfront in the mix which meant that Cabaret Voltaire were becoming a success in the clubs as well as achieving better Chart positions. In the early 80s it was easy to be classed as a sell out in the alternative crowd , many bands never fully recovered from the critical backlash , but with the Cabs they seemed to retain the indie respect whilst also gaining new fans with their bass/keyboard driven sound. That made them a unique band. Influenced by bands like Can, Chrome, Roxy Music, Eno and of course Kraftwerk, i would say Cabaret Voltaire drew on these resources but also made something that was entirely their own. New Order and Cabaret Voltaire were bands of the time that were moving the Kraftwerk electronic template and created some timeless works over the years. Also worth noting is the effect Cabaret Voltaire had on the scene around them in Sheffield in the late 70s and Early 80s. The crackdown album was released in August 1983 and was originally packaged with a 4 track ep which featured more ambient pieces. The album starts with 24-24 and this sets the standard for the rest of the album. Tracks like ‘Animation’ and 'Talking time ’ remain highlights. It was recently remastered and released at the end of last year. The Crackdown album is album showing a band at the peak of their powers. Albums followed which were just as influential but this album is a highlight for me as it was a bit of a gamble at the time, but also showed that taking an experimental approach sometimes pays off with excellent results. As for reunion’s I cannot see Cabaret Voltaire reforming, which has been a major discussion on the Cabaret Voltaire group I help run. But whats worth remembering is that Cabaret Voltaire outlasted bands like Throbbing Gristle, some bands reformed in the years that the cabs were going. They continue to release groundbreaking albums under aliases Richard H Kirk and Stephen Mallinder (wrangler). They are no longer together but the records they released influenced what they are doing now. I like the legacy the way they left it. http://open.spotify.com/album/4W2f00wkFHZVOA5ezMkGNQ posted on 3/3/14 post punk dicussion group