VIA PRESS RELEASE | Cabaret Voltaire have announced the release of their 1979 soundtrack, Chance Versus Causality, which will be available officially for the first time since the film’s release. Chance Versus Causality will be out on limited edition transparent green vinyl, CD, and digital formats on August 30 via Mute.
On the same day, 1974-76 will get its first vinyl release. The album, originally released on cassette via Industrial Records in 1980, was reissued on CD by The Grey Area of Mute (a division of Mute dedicated to reissues) in 1992 and will be available on limited edition transparent orange double vinyl and digital formats. 1974-76 is a selection of material recorded by Cabaret Voltaire in their formative years. Recorded in Chris Watson’s attic on a domestic reel-to-reel tape recorder, a number of the recordings were included in the now legendary limited edition cassette released by the band in 1976. Pre-order Chance Versus Causality and 1974-76 here.
Chance Versus Causality was recorded in 1979 as the soundtrack for director Babeth Mondini’s film of the same name. The band originally met Mondini at the infamous Brussels Plan K show which saw Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, and William Burroughs share a bill, and soon after, Mondini asked them to create the soundtrack for her film. Chance Versus Causality was improvised in a similar vein to what the band refer to as their live “ambient sets” which are described as having “less rhythm, more tape.” The soundtrack was recorded live by the original Cabaret Voltaire line up—Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder, and Chris Watson—at the band’s Western Works studio with no prior knowledge of the film or instruction from the director.
Only one copy of the soundtrack existed on two reels of tape that were sent to Holland for inclusion in the split-screen 16mm film which was given a limited release and never even seen by the band. Previously, only a section of the soundtrack was released via the B-side to the “Silent Command” 7” (RoughTrade004).
Around 15 years ago, the tapes were returned to Cabaret Voltaire and this lost classic from the archive was placed to one side, only recently resurfacing during discussions with Mute. The artwork, which was created with archival and found montage imagery from that period, includes images projected at performances from that time. Chance Versus Causality was mixed digitally by Richard H. Kirk and Phil Wolstenholme.
Live and improvised but coherent with a touch of mischief and warmth, this single piece of music is an evocative snapshot of this era of Cabaret Voltaire just after the release of Nag, Nag, Nag and ahead of the Voice of America album, which has strong ties with this release through the vocal samples and overall sound.
Cabaret Voltaire have been performing select festivals in recent years, and Richard H. Kirk is currently working on a new Cabaret Voltaire album.
Chance Versus Causality Tracklisting
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4
5. Part 5
6. Part 6
7. Part 7
1974-76 Tracklisting
1. The Dada Man
2. Ooraseal
3. A Sunday Night in Biot
4. In Quest of the Unusual
5. Do The Snake
6. Fade Crisis
7. Doubled Delivery
8. Venusian Animals
9. The Outer Limits
10. She Loved You
