118 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
INTERVIEW:
TOM
PINNOCK
Richard H Kirk
TheCabaretVoltairemainstayontherecords that rewired
hiscortex:“Youcan’t beat a good drone!”
TONYCONRAD
WITHFAUST
OutsideTheDream Syndicate
CAROLINE, 1973
Therewassomeinterestingstuffbubbling
underbeforepunkkickedin.I’dbeenlistening
toFaustwhenI wasatsixthform,soI probably
justspottedthisina recordshop.I wasquiteinto
thewholeideaofdronesandlong,repetitivetracks.I usedonesideofthis,
“FromTheSideOfManAndWomankind”,asanintroforCabaretVoltairein
thelate’70s,becauseit wasa reallygoodtensionbuilder,it justwentonand
on.I intercutit withJamesBrownandsome’60sR&B,andit wasperfectfor
building a tense atmospherebeforetheshow.Youcan’tbeat a good drone!
LADÜSSELDORF
LaDüsseldorf
NOVA/RADAR, 1976
Thisis basicallyNeu!withoutMichaelRother.
Thefirstsideis a bittinny,there’snota lotof
bass,butI wasfascinatedbyit.Thesleevelooks
likea photographofDüsseldorfairport,andit
wasjustmoregreatGermanstuff.Thiswasa bit
ofa favourite,withHansLampeandThomasDingerondoubledrumsand
thatmotorikbeat.Thefirstsidehadquiteanamphetaminevibetoit,but
maybethat’sjustmytakeonit,I’mnotsurewhatthose guys were up to –
probably more psychedelics than amphetamine.
FRIPP& ENO
EveningStar
ISLAND/EG, 1975
IthinkI sawRoxyMusiclivein1972,andI heard
(NoPussyfooting)throughbeinga fanoftheirs
andEno.ThencameEveningStar, whichis just
asstrong.ThecombinationofEnodoingwhat
hewasdoingandthenFrippplayinghisguitar
throughtwoorthreetapemachinestogetthesereallysustaineddelays
madefora goodendresult.I useda lotofeffectsonmyguitar,soI suppose
toa certainextentI wasinfluencedbythis.I remembertherewasa concert
inLondonwhereFrippandEnodidsomeofthisstufflive– I didn’t go sadly,
but I think[fellow CabaretVoltairefounder] ChrisWatsondid.
KRAFTWERK
TheMan-Machine
KLINGKLANG/EMIELECTROLA, 1978
Idon’tknowa KraftwerkrecordthatI don’tlike,
I’vebeena massivefaneversinceAutobahn
cameout.TheMan-Machineis 40yearsold
andit stillsoundslikethefuture,it’sjustso
cleanandperfect.GiorgioMoroderandDonna
Summer’s“IFeelLove”hasa similarfeel,withsimilarsequencerparts,and
that’sjustgreataswell.Theideaof“theman-machine”is basicallywhat
Kraftwerkarenow– I sawthemlivein 2017 andthey’rea livingmuseum
ofart,totallyall-encompassing.I’msureatsome point they will replace
themselves with proper,advancedrobots.
THECRAMPS
SongsTheLord Taught Us
IRS/ILLEGAL, 1980
TheCrampsweretickinga lotofboxesforme,
especiallywiththattrash-horrorthingI loved
infilms.Theyweredoingstuffwithguitarsthat
wasn’tpunkbutstillhadthatpunkenergytoit.
Theyhadthatrockabillyaspecttoit aswell,and
almosta surffeelwithPoisonIvytwanging.TheCrampsplayedinSheffield
aroundthistime,andI rememberLuxInteriorsmasheda holeintheceiling
abovethestage.Hejustpunchedthefuckoutofthislowroof,andasa result
theydidn’tgetpaidbecausetheyhad to repair the damage. You don’t see
stuff like that much thesedays!
LOUREED
Transformer
RCA , 1972
Thisis quiteaheadofitstime,intermsofLGBT
themes– I mean,hewashangingaroundwith
Warholandallthetransvestites[inthatscene].
It’squitea sweetrecord,really,comparedtothe
Velvets,butthenLoualwayshada sensitive,
melodicsideaswellasthemoreabrasiveanti-musicside.Listeningto
“PerfectDay”and“SatelliteOfLove”,they’rejustreallybeautifulpiecesof
musicwitha knowingsenseofhumour.Soyeah,it wasa popularrecord.
ObviouslyBowiehadquitea handinit, as did Mick Ronson, who did all the
arrangements and playedguitar.
VARIOUSARTISTS
RassClaatDub
GROUNATION, 1976
Therewasa recordstoreinSheffieldbackinthe
mid-’70scalledNewBeat,andit wasbasically
allJamaicanstuff.AdrianSherwoodusedto
deliverrecordsthereinhisyoungerdays.It was
intherethatI sawthecoverandtitleofthisand
thought,“Thissoundsinteresting.”TothisdayI don’tknowwhosomeof
theartistsare,becauseit doesn’thaveanyinformationonit.ButI know
there’sa BobMarleycoveronthereforsure.Oddly,thisalbum’ssponsored
byAirJamaica!Butit’sa greatcross-section of dub with some nice vocals as
well, and a quite dark and heavy vibe.
FELAANIKULAPOKUTI
ANDROYAYERS
MusicOfManyColours
PHONODISK/EUROBOND, 1980
I’dbeenlisteningtoFelaKutisincethe’70s
andI lovedhisstuff,lovedthefacthewas
political– hewasreallyabrasiveaboutthe
Nigeriangovernmentandthearmy,whichgot
himintoserioustrouble.Thisis slightlydifferentfromwhatyou’dnormally
getfromFela.On“2000BlacksGotToBeFree”,RoyAyersplaysvibesand
sings,whichgivesit a wholedifferentfeel.WhatI likemostis thesentiment,
aboutunityandblackpeoplegettinga betterdeal.InthedaysofTrumpand
populism,it’sevenmorerelevantthanit mighthave been when it came out.
Cabaret Voltaire’s Chance Versus Causality and 1974-76 are reissued on August 30 by Mute
