Cabaret Voltaire’s Mixtape

Jennifer Lucy Allan presents a mixtape compiled by Steel City’s legendary experimentalists Cabaret Voltaire. Forming in Sheffield in 1973, with members Chris Watson, Richard H Kirk and Stephen Mallinder, the band were forged through experimentalism, with radical DIY approaches to music-making as their nucleus. Starting out with tape loops, self-built synthesisers and found sound (including everything from snatches of radio broadcasts to manipulated noise), they made music years ahead of its time. Early performances pre-dating the punk era were raucous and full of mischief (taking place everywhere from public toilets to discotheques to the back of a van) and their sound proved confrontational at times, with plenty of broken glass, mob scenes and notable hospitalisations in the mix.

Following the death of founding member Richard H Kirk in 2021, Stephen and Chris are set to embark on a final tour as Cabaret Voltaire to mark the release of a new live album, ‘But What Time Is It Really?’ In crafting a special Late Junction mixtape to mark the occasion, the duo celebrate an array of sounds and songs from their most treasured artists and composers.

Also tonight, Jennifer Lucy Allan presents playful, pulsating new work from museum curator and sonic researcher Kristen Gallerneaux’s new release, Life Day. Plus, bouncy beats and percussion from a collaboration between Texan rapper and producer Liv.e and Detroit drummer Karriem Riggins.

Produced by Cat Gough.
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

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