An evening of unspooled reels, flickery images, lively conversation and dead good music. In conversation: author Jamie Taylor and Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire. Hosted by writer Travis Elborough.
Doors: 7pm. Event starts 7.30pm.
Tickets: £8 general admission; £20 book pre-purchase & ticket
In Studio Electrophonique: The Sheffield space age, from The Human League to Pulp, Jamie Taylor tells the amazing story of the home studio that helped launch some of Britain’s most beloved bands.
The Sheffield space age began in 1961, when local mechanic Ken Patten won a tape-recording competition by recreating the sound of a rocket launch using a pencil and a bicycle pump.
In the decades that followed, the makeshift home studio he constructed became the launch pad for a group of young musicians who would shape the futuristic sound of 1980s pop. The Human League, Heaven 17, Pulp, ABC and others made their early recordings with Ken, whose DIY ethic was the perfect fit for a city facing industrial decline but teeming with ideas.
In conversation with the writer Travis Elborough, Taylor, Adi Newton and Stephen ‘Mal’ Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire and Wrangler, discuss the visionaries who helped put this South Yorkshire steel town firmly on the global musical map and created a soundtrack to the future that continues to resonate today.
Jamie Taylor is a filmmaker and writer from Sheffield. He is the director of The Campaigners and A Film about Studio Electrophonique. This is his first book.
Praise for Studio Electrophonique: The Sheffield space age, from The Human League to Pulp
'The amazing story of an enthusiastic oddball who changed the sound of British pop.' - Mark Radcliffe, broadcaster and writer
Stephen Mallinder is singer/musician/artist/DJ/writer from Sheffield who was a founding member of electronic pioneers Cabaret Voltaire, as well as Sassi and Loco, the Ku-Ling Bros and Hey, Rube!
As the writer and producer in Cabaret Voltaire, also lead vocals, bass, percussion, tape recorders and keyboards. He is also a member of Wrangler, Creep Show, Cambell-Mallinder-Benge and works under his own name. Stephen has released more than 40 albums, soundtracks and experimental films. He has run several record labels and the UK’s first independent video label Doublevision and addition Offworld Productions. He has an extensive back catalogue and continues to record, remix and live work.
Described by The Guardian as ‘one of the country’s finest pop culture historians’, Travis Elborough has been a freelance writer, author, broadcaster and cultural commentator for over two decades now. His collaborations with the musician Luke J Murray aka Stonecirclesampler have been released on The Tapeworm and Sleep FUSE labels.
As one of the founder members of The Future, which evolved into The Human League, Adi Newton began his life long involvement with sound via painting and through a theatre project which began his involvement with sound, he founded Clock DVA and TAGC/The Anti Group in 1978, who went on to become one of the pre eminent pioneers of late 70’s/80’s experimental music alongside and in collaborative association with Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire.
Clock DVA’s acclaimed albums include the 1988 album Buried Dreams (Considered by many as an electronic masterpiece) and the 1980 electro-acoustic album Thirst released on the cult label Fetish. Considered by Paul Morley in his NME Album review as one of the Best Debut Albums of the 1980’s, it sat alongside Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures and The Fall’s Dragnet. Clock DVA continue to present and release new music and perform critically acclaimed audio visual works and performances throughout Europe and the USA.
Order a book and ticket for just £20.00
Copies of the book will be on sale at the event priced £12.99