Cabaret Voltaire - But What Time Is It Really?

IN MEMORY OF RICHARD H KIRK. Originally only available DTC & on tour. Recorded live in the UK, 2025

Stephen Mallinder: vocals, bass, keyboards, samples
Chris Watson: organ, modular synths, samples & field recordings
Eric Random: keyboards, guitar
Oliver Harrap: electronic percussion

Original rehearsals at Memetune studios
Benge: keyboards & electronic drums.
Engineered & mixed by Benge
Arranged & produced by Stephen Mallinder & Benge at Memetune Studios Mastered by James Trevascus. 

The title But What Time Is It Really? hints at the repetition that’s a part of the Cabs’ music.

There’s a faint echo of the closing words of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return – “What year is this?” – which hint that we’re all just pawns in a game we can’t escape from. But there’s also a cute nod to the old electro / hip hop hype call of ‘What time is it?’, with a wry addition of ‘really’ suggesting the pleasures of the dancefloor have been lost along the way.

This set, featuring two of the surviving members of Cabaret Voltaire, is as clear and powerful as any of the live albums the group released while Richard H. Kirk was alive. And it underlines that, when it comes to the live experience of electronic music, there’s a certain beauty in the way that the system – the grand design – can sometimes outlive its creators. – THE QUIETUS