2x45

Following on from the Rough Trade 50th edition (which has completely sold out) there is a black vinyl edition of this album, but still with the additional 12" of remixes added. Cabaret Voltaire’s 2×45 from 1982 is exactly this kind of document, their last release for Rough Trade, the last to feature founding member Chris Watson before his departure. The release captures the sound of the band in transition, wrapping up the angular experimenting and soundscapes of the first stage of their career and giving freer rein to the rhythms and beats that would be an increasingly dominant feature of their next stage, the Some Bizarre years.

Equally unique was that, by the time of 2×45, the band recognised that they were sitting between two important, if often opposed traditions: the art music of Cage and Stockhausen and the funk of Motown. These elements, filtered through a heady diet of Burroughs, Gysin and Ballard, translated to stuttering beats and distorted sounds that, as the music developed in complexity and the technology advanced, came to resemble songs with versus, choruses and repeated refrains.

12" tracks:

E1. Seconds Too Late (2025 Remaster)
E2. Control Addict (2025 Remaster)
F1. Yashar [John Robie Remix] (2025 Remaster)