Cabaret Voltaire - Sensoria

“Sensoria” is the moment Cabaret Voltaire’s industrial experimentation and fascination with the dancefloor became inseparable. Dark, physical, and relentlessly rhythmic, it remains one of the defining electronic singles of the 1980s.

Released in 1984 on Some Bizzare/Virgin, “Sensoria” emerged from the same sessions as Micro-Phonies, the album that pushed Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder further from their abrasive Sheffield origins toward funk, electro, and increasingly sophisticated electronic production. The album was recorded at the group’s Western Works studio with Flood involved in the sessions, while the extended version of “Sensoria” was produced with John “Tokes” Potoker.

This UK 12-inch single is where the track truly takes on a life of its own. The nearly eight-minute extended “Sensoria” effectively combines elements of two Micro-Phonies tracks, “Sensoria” and “Do Right,” transforming them into a hypnotic barrage of sequenced electronics, funk-informed rhythm, manipulated voices, guitar, and Stephen Mallinder’s coolly detached vocal. The result feels simultaneously mechanical and deeply physical, a crucial bridge between early industrial music and the club-oriented electronic music that followed.

The B-side, “Cut The Damn Camera,” pushes further into the Cabs’ fascination with rhythm, repetition, and sonic manipulation. Produced by Cabaret Voltaire and Flood, it makes the 12-inch more than simply an extended version backed with filler. Together, the two tracks capture the duo at a pivotal point when their experimental methodology was becoming increasingly compatible with the dancefloor.

“Sensoria” also produced one of Cabaret Voltaire’s most celebrated visual works. Directed by Peter Care, its innovative video received significant exposure on MTV and was later acquired by New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Four decades later, the extended “Sensoria” still sounds remarkably forward-thinking: industrial music discovering funk, electro, and the possibilities of the 12-inch remix without sacrificing any of its underlying menace.