Cabaret Voltaire were a pair of serious, doomy, Sheffield men who made serious, industrial, doomy, scary, sinister, electronic, bass heavy music in the late 70s and early 80s, and then forged early house/electronica. Records like Sensoria and Nag Nag Nag have regularly been held up as influential. On last year's BBC4 Synth Britannia programme they came across as likeable, down-to-earth blokes who liked a pint and a bit of Ballard. In 1982 they released this on Factory- Yashar (Fac 82 Fac fans). It's a spooky record with a Cold War-ish vocal sample ('There's 70 billion people out there, where are they hiding?'), mixed in with Eastern drones and early drum machines. On the B-side of the 12" John Robie remixed it, doubling the length, and adding synths and that early 80s Fact-ness, to send it in the direction of the dancefloor. Although most dancefloors in most clubs at the time would clear pretty quickly once it got going I would imagine. Brilliant record, and although I could be corrected on this, an early example of the art of the remix.
02 Yashar (John Robie Mix 1).mp3
02 Yashar (John Robie Mix 1).mp3