Voltaire Waves: CVTV

Greetings, O people of the weekend's beginning! I may have the spine of a 98 year old man, but that won't stop me from delivering a quick slice of anniversary mayhem for you.

This half hour of extraterrestrial transmission was taped for Spanish television 34 years ago on this day in 1983, and features an iconic and deeply iconoclastic ensemble at the very pinnacle of their powers.

This is a part of a seminal TV show from the early to mid 1980s called "La Edad de Oro," or "The Golden Age". A particularly awesome fan captured almost all of the show's episodes -- it ran from 1983-85 -- on a HiFi Betamax recorder and rendered a whole bunch of them into utterly stunning DVDs. 

These are not just indistinguishable from an official release, they look better than many official issues. And the artwork dude made, which paraphrases The X-Files, is also beyond topnotch.

This installment is one of the most killer of all of them and features the much-revered Cabaret Voltaire, a band wholly uncategorizable except to say that once you see or hear them, you're not likely to forget them.

This performance dates from when they were transitioning into a more danceable, accessible mode... but it's still way the fk out there. Look out for synth whiz Richard H. Kirk, playing several instruments at once and looking mighty cool whilst doing it.

Cabaret Voltaire

"La Edad de Oro"

TVE Studios

Madrid, Spain

11.10.1983

01 In the Shadows

02 Animation

03 Just Fascination

04 Over and Over

05 The Dream Ticket

06 Product Patrol

plus bonus interview

Total time: 37:17

Stephen Mallinder – bass & vocals

Richard H. Kirk – guitars, keyboards, synthesizers & sequencers

Alan Fish - drums & percussion

PAL DVD of a HiFi Beta capture of the original broadcast

1.2 GB/November 2017 archive link

I'm gonna go work on a tribute to an unsung hero who just left us the other day, but why don't you start your weekend reverie off the right way, with a dose of No Wave goodness from one of the genre's most beloved practitioners? Your Dada commands you... now listen to your parents!--J.