OOOOOFF! Cabaret Voltaire are set to play their first live performance in over 20 years, with a show just announced at the Berlin Atonal festival on August 23. A press release from Mute states: "With a line up now consisting solely of machines, multi-screen projections and Richard H. Kirk, this will be the first Cabaret Voltaire performance since November 1992 and will feature exclusively new material and no nostalgia. The performance promises to be something relevant for the first Cabaret Voltaire outing of the 21st Century." The news follows a series of Cabs releases on Mute, starting with a reissue of their 1981 album Red Mecca, followed by the #8385 (Collected Works 1983 – 1985) box set and most recently #7885 (Electropunk to Technopop 1978 – 1985) bringing together work from the band’s 1978-81 and 1983-85 periods. Read our review of the latter here. Last year, Quietus editor John Doran interviewed Kirk, as well as discussing the legacy of the Cabs with former member Stephen Mallinder in his interview with Mallinder’s new band Wrangler here.
This year’s Atonal, which was relaunched in 2013, will also feature a performance of Steve Reich’s Music For 18 Musicians, a premiere of a collaboration between Donato Dozzy and Nuel and sets by Tim Hecker, Vessel, Millie & Andrea, Source Direct, In Aeternam Vale and others. The festival’s site has full details and tickets.
