CABARET VOLTAIRE + MICROCORPS – ATTENBOROUGH CENTRE FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS, BRIGHTON 22.11.25
As far as I’m aware, this evening’s bash at the rather wonderful Attenborough Centre For The Creative Arts (ACCA) which is located on the University Of Sussex campus at Falmer, directly across the A27 from the Amex Stadium, is only the third time that electronic pioneers Cabaret Voltaire have performed live in Brighton. Their previous concert was back on 29th November 1992 at the Gardner Arts Centre, which is actually the same building as tonight, but before its impressive facelift and rebranding. The first Cabaret Voltaire Brighton gig took place in town along Kings Road between the Brighton Centre and PRYZM in a lost venue called Jenkinsons. The date of this was 6th June 1982.
I, myself have only previously seen them in action and that was 14,528 days ago when I ventured especially up to London to catch them at the Town & Country Club in Kentish Town, London (now known as O2 Forum Kentish Town) on Wednesday 12th February 1986. The setlist that night was: ‘Trouble’, ‘Hells Home’, ‘Crackdown’, ‘808’, ‘We Got Heart’, ‘Piledriver’, ‘Just Fascination’, ‘Hey Hey’, ‘I Want You’, ‘Sex Money Freaks’, ‘Shakedown’, ‘Drink Your Poison’, ‘Big Funk’, and encore track ‘Kino’.
Cabaret Voltaire formed in Sheffield in 1973 and initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson. Apparently they got their name from the Zürich nightclub that fostered the early Dada movement. The band are quite rightly characterized as among the most innovative and influential electronic acts of their era and they were originally active between 1973-1994. Chris Watson was on board until 1981 and so the group continued as a two-piece until disbanding in 1994. Richard H Kirk revived the name as a solo project from 2009 until his untimely death on 21st September 2021, at the age of 65. Watson and now Brighton resident Mallinder stated that there will be no new recordings under the name Cabaret Voltaire, but on 13th May this year they announced that they would be performing a 50th anniversary gig on 25th October 2025 as part of the Sensoria Festival in their hometown of Sheffield.
Stephen Mallinder explains, “The live set is built from scratch but faithful to the original tracks. Everything has been painstakingly reconstructed with the original technology and processes to build the tracks. But as with all Cabs live shows there is an element of unpredictable, the new. Chance meets causality.”
Chris Watson goes on to say, “I’m delighted and totally thrilled to make a contribution to the band’s 50th anniversary. To share a stage once more with Mal and to honour Cabaret Voltaire’s legacy will be a unique privilege, whilst remembering that in the current times – as back then – the Dadaist interventions of Cabaret Voltaire remain essential.”
Clearly things went rather well and the duo then announced a series of UK concert dates in order to mark 50 years of Cabaret Voltaire. These being in Glasgow on 17th November, Manchester 18th, Birmingham 19th, London 21st (and added London date 22nd October) and this evening in Brighton. Such was ticket demand that Watson and Mallinder have now also announced their final European tour which includes half a dozen dates, as well as their final UK tour, which will take in 11 UK dates across the country, including a date here in Sussex at the iconic De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea – Find out more HERE.
During his Cabaret Voltaire downtime, Chris Watson has been busy with 30 years of sound recording, which culminated in ‘No Man’s Land’, a 40 minute epic auditorium show of a sub oceanic journey of awe inspiring proportions, whereby one becomes fully immersed within an audio installation that celebrates the sounds, rhythms and music from deep below the surface the world’s seas and oceans. This came to Attenborough Centre For The Creative Arts back on 31st March 2018 and we went along. Read our account HERE.
During his Cabs downtime Mallinder has published numerous academic papers, and gained his PhD in music and popular culture from Murdoch University in Australia in 2011 with his thesis ‘Movement: Journey of the Beat’. He now has been researching at the Art Design Media Centre and teaches on Digital Music & Sound Art at the University of Brighton.
So to this evening’s events! The weather hasn’t really put folk in the right frame of mind, but once one enters ACCA with its welcoming staff, cloakroom, beers and snacks on offer, everything outside is immediately forgotten. Not surprisingly tonight has sold out, and I suspect that they could have selected a larger venue, but I’m really glad that they didn’t because this has the feel of an intimate occasion and the venue soundsystem is tremendous, it’s crisp and clear and the design of the room assists the sound. There are eight speakers hanging high either side of the stage, as well as two standing on the front corners of the stage. The white rear wall is perfect for showing stage wide videos, which suits the Cabs. Their equipment is in place prior to our arrival and it comprises partly of a Nord Electro 6 synth, Korg MS2000B synth, Roland SP404S Sampling Workstation, another Korg, a guitar, a bass guitar, electronic drums, two laptops, and a trio of microphones for Mallinder to switch around to. Pleasingly, the punters this evening are from right across the spectrum, as opposed to the late 1970’s trenchcoat brigade.
This evening’s performance lasts for 78 minutes, from 9:00pm until 10:18pm and during that time we are rewarded with a set of less experimental cuts and more towards their dance side, which just suits me fine! The lights go out and the intro tape makes its announcements, which are culled from ‘The Voice Of America’ from the 1980 ‘The Voice Of America’ album and ‘Theme From Earthshaker’ from their 1984 ‘Micro-Phonies’ album. There are four gents that take to the stage this evening, these are centre front Stephen ‘Mal’ Mallinder (vocals, bass, keys, whistle, shakers, laptop), our back left Chris Watson (keys, electronics, laptop), our back right Eric Random (keys, guitar) and central rear Oliver Harrap (electronic drums).
They kick off with a trio of cuts from 1983’s ‘The Crackdown’ album, the first of which being ‘24/24’, the beat of which is not that far away from Kraftwerk’s ‘Trans Europe Express’. The second being the funky dance friendly ‘Animation’ which comes with an Arabic vibe and Mal on bass guitar. Mal flits between the three microphones spread across his working area, whereas the other trio remain static. Mal addresses the full-house crowd with a “Thank you! Hello Brighton, home from home for me”. He then went onto to pay homage to his departed colleague Richard H. Kirk, for which the punters applauded. The third and best cut from ‘The Crackdown’ is ‘Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)’ which has a speedy beat that strangely reminded me of Spandau Ballet’s ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’, and this evening’s version actually sounds even better than the recorded version.
Mal then informs us that they won’t be performing any new Cabaret Voltaire material, but that they are going to perform a new solo Chris Watson tune titled ‘Tinsley Viaduct’. As you would expect, it’s an experimental piece, and I found myself drawn to the video screen at the rear of the stage which has some interesting graphics on offer, including tunnels and industrial works. Selection five is ‘The Set Up’, which I know from their 1980 ‘Live At The Y.M.C.A. 27.10.79’ album. Eric certainly lets loose on his guitar for this one and there are screeches aplenty. Amazingly, the only cut from 1981’s ‘Red Mecca’ LP is the hypnotic deep bass beated ‘Landslide’, which is far too short for my liking. There’s more Kraftwerk ‘Trans Europe Express’ vibes on this one too, and tonight’s version also sounds better than the recorded version.
After a very brief backing film of ‘Excerpt From Howl’, the music continues in earnest with the arrival of the title track of ‘The Crackdown’ which is littered with sharp electronic pulses atop a booming beat. After this, Mal then introduces ‘Spies In The Wires’, which comes from their 1984 ‘Micro-Phonies’ album. Tonight’s version has what sounds like morse code cutups with a slow booming beat, which has the feel of a Belgian New Beat number meets a 33rpm ‘Wordy Rappinghood’ by Tom Tom Club. It’s again back to ‘The Crackdown’ LP with the arrival of the ‘Just Fascination’ big hitter, with its deep crashing beat, electronic handclaps and solid keys backing. It’s that trademark ‘Cabs’ sound which has some added vocoder action from Mal.
They move onto the experimental ‘Taxi Music’ which is located on 1983’s ‘Johnny Yesno (The Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture)’ album, as well as previously being on their 1981 ‘Live At The Lyceum’ and 1982’s ‘Hai!’ albums. Tonight’s repetitive beats and bleeps version is very much thankfully a truncated adaptation which sees Mal on whistle as well as playing bass, sometimes at the same time. Things pick up with the arrival of the sample: “The 70 billion people of Earth – where are they hiding?” which is greeted by many cheers in the room as they acknowledge the classic ‘Yashar’ which is found on both their ‘Hai!’ and ‘2X45’ albums from 1982. Its traditional 1980’s Cabs trademark beats and cut-ups lead the way, and this evening’s version has the added benefit of sounding exactly like classic Gary Numan, care of the input from Eric on his Korg MS2000B synth. Mal even adds to the beat with an egg shaker. Tonight’s version is an absolute blinder and again better than the recorded tune! “Is that possible I hear you say?”. Well yes, it is. If the guys haven’t thought of recording one of this tour’s concerts for release as a future live album, then they are really missing a trick! This is the best track of the set thus far!
The quartet are seriously now in the groove and maintain their quality with the arrival of ‘Sex Money Freaks’ from 1987’s ‘Code’ album. This is drenched with sharp electronic pulses courtesy of Chris on his Nord Electro 6 synth, akin to Kraftwerk’s ‘Metal On Metal’, and Mal takes care of the impressive vocoder parts. This is seriously another set highlight that is even better than the recorded version. There’s some Sheffield bleepy techno rave action with the arrival of their instrumental ‘Easy Life’ from 1990’s ‘Groovy, Laidback And Nasty’ album. Its funky samba-laden egg shaker action all the way with this one. I had actually forgotten exactly how great this tune is, and DJ’s would be encouraged to mix this in with ‘Break For Love’ by Raze.
It’s back to ‘Micro-Phonies’ for the final tune of their main set, this being the epic ‘Do Right’, which is universally warmly greeted by the punters, and this for me has always been the sister track to their ‘Sensoria’. With a “Thank you Brighton, cheers” from Mal, the players vacate the stage. Whilst they are backstage and we are shouting for more, the backing screen is still on the go and we hear ‘Theme From Doublevision’ from ‘The Crackdown’. They return and dive into the timeless parent annoyer that is their 1979 ‘Nag Nag Nag’ single, which I can remember buying in Attrix Records on Sydney Street, Brighton, along with ‘Silent Command’, which sadly doesn’t get an outing today. For ‘Nag Nag Nag’ Eric is showing how masterful he is with his guitar, as is Mal with his bass. I’m absolutely over the moon to finally hear this track live as they didn’t play it during my previous encounter. This version was blimmin’ epic!
The quartet signed off with the brilliant ‘Sensoria’ from ‘Micro-Phonies’ album. The video of which, you shouldn’t watch when you come back from the pub after a few “shandies” as you will fall over! The deep bass notes tonight are rather epic, and the guitar riffs are terrific as well. We danced in joy to this number. After this Mal thanked Dan who had been on visuals and Joe on sound and then they were gone!
OK, so in summing up….
Sound = top quality
Visuals = good
Music = bloody epic!
Cabaret Voltaire:
Stephen ‘Mal’ Mallinder – vocals, bass, keys, whistle, shakers, laptop
Chris Watson – keys, electronics, laptop
Eric Random – keys, guitar
Oliver Harrap – electronic drums
Cabaret Voltaire setlist:
(Intro tape) ‘The Voice Of America’ (from 1980 ‘The Voice Of America’ album)
(Intro tape) ‘Theme From Earthshaker’ (from 1984 ‘Micro-Phonies’ album)
‘24/24’ (from 1983 ‘The Crackdown’ album)
‘Animation’ (from 1983 ‘The Crackdown’ album)
‘Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)’ (from 1983 ‘The Crackdown’ album)
‘Tinsley Viaduct’ (new Chris Watson song)
‘The Set Up’ (from 1980 ‘Live At The Y.M.C.A. 27.10.79’ album)
‘Landslide’ (from 1981 ‘Red Mecca’ album)
(On tape) ‘Excerpt From Howl’
‘Crackdown’ (from 1983 ‘The Crackdown’ album)
‘Spies In The Wires’ (from 1984 ‘Micro-Phonies’ album)
‘Just Fascination’ (from 1983 ‘The Crackdown’ album)
‘Taxi Music’ (from 1983 ‘Johnny Yesno (The Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture)’ album & 1981 ‘Live At The Lyceum’ album & 1982 ‘Hai!’ album)
‘Yashar’ (from 1982 ‘Hai!’ album & 1982 ‘2X45’ album)
‘Sex Money Freaks’ (from 1987 ‘Code’ album)
‘Easy Life’ (from 1990 ‘Groovy, Laidback And Nasty’ album)
‘Do Right’ (from 1984 ‘Micro-Phonies’ album)
(Awaiting encore tape) ‘Theme From Doublevision’ (from 1983 ‘The Crackdown’ album)
(encore)
‘Nag Nag Nag’ (a 1979 single & ‘Live At The Y.M.C.A. 27.10.79’ album)
‘Sensoria’ (from 1984 ‘Micro-Phonies’ album)
(Outro tape) ‘Theme From Doublevision’ (from 1983 ‘The Crackdown’ album)
www.instagram.com/cabaretvoltaireband
Support this evening came from Alexander Tucker aka Microcorps which is stylized as MICROCORPS. The blurb reads that under this electronic guise he “develops work around complex modular systems, cello, bass guitar and voice, creating tracks of heavy electronics, that meld machine rhythms with acoustic samples” and that “Microcorps tracks are born from a balance between composition and improvisation within set parameters. At each stage audio is heavily processed and then reconfigured, setting up systems that are non-repeatable, where decisions can be premeditated and intuitive but never the same with each performance”.
We asked Alexander what he will be up to this evening for us and he informed us that it’s a “new set so nothing has a name” and added that it’s “just a big sprawling mutant techno set”. On the technical side Alexander informed us that he’s “using a modular system, mostly drum stuff with fx and samples of my own strings, sax and clarinet recordings”.
Alexander takes to the stage at 7:59pm and we are in his company for the next 32 minutes until 8:31pm. There are already quite a number of virtually all standing punters already in position, in order to see what’s going down. As per the Cabaret Voltaire set, the whole of the rear wall of the stage is continually playing nondescript, mainly plantlife, videos in order to gain further attention.
Alexander is sporting a pair of Orbital-like glasses with lights in order to see his equipment, or just to look cool. The music is presented as one continuous megamix with arcade game ‘Space Invaders’ style bleeps and booming beats, with the addition of altered vocoder-style words when required. Alexander busies himself throughout as he tweaks the knobs of his equipment. The sound is exceptionally clear and the bass notes are floor rattling. Although, Microcorps is an acquired taste, that you could arguably label as the bastard son of the outer reaches of Front 242 material, on set completion, Alexander was rewarded with hearty applause from the punters.
