CODE has the atmosphere of a television left running after everyone has gone out. The voices keep issuing instructions. Stephen Mallinder’s low, close-mouthed delivery slips between the electronic rhythms, giving the hooks a conspiratorial intimacy.
Originally released in 1987, the album returns through Mute in an expanded edition remastered from the original tapes by Denis Blackham, with 33 tracks making the digital release. The additional versions make this an invitation to follow the songs beyond their album arrangements, into the extended working life of the twelve-inch.
“Don’t Argue” feeds a military instruction film into the machinery; turning the language of authority into a hook. The command is wonderfully suited to a dance record: obey the rhythm, keep moving. Its ugliness survives the invitation. The music offers a small demonstration of how easily an order can become entertainment.
The source of the samples is a film written by Dr Seuss, warning American soldiers not to fraternise with the inhabitants of occupied Germany. “You are up against German history. It isn’t good.” That line didn’t make it into the track, but Bill Nelson was brought in to add guitar that subverted the overwhelming sense of paranoia.
“Sex, Money, Freaks” catches the same discomfort in a more seductive form. Mallinder has described its subject as the culture of wealth and consumption taking shape around Thatcher’s Britain, with technology helping money on its way. The title works as an advertising slogan with the respectable language scraped off.
There is a similar double meaning in “Thank You America,” which Mallinder confirms was delivered with Reagan-era irony. Gratitude becomes suspicious through repetition. Across CODE, the attraction lies in that friction between an inviting groove and words that refuse to put anyone at ease.
Adrian Sherwood co-produced the record, joining the duo at Western Works before the sessions moved to London’s Red Bus for mixing. His role went beyond applying a dub finish: Mallinder remembers a collaborator who understood their ideas without lengthy explanation and could create the sounds they imagined. That sympathy is a useful way into CODE’s combination of pop accessibility and abrasive detail. The rhythm can welcome you while the treatment of sound keeps you wary.
Keith LeBlanc belongs in this account, too. “Keith did stuff on CODE but I don’t know if it got credited,” Mallinder told Tone Glow, recalling the drummer’s presence alongside fellow Sugar Hill rhythm-section musician and Tackhead co-conspirator, Doug Wimbish. There exchange taking place between Sheffield’s electronic experimenters and musicians with hip-hop in their hands is impressed into the sound.
The expanded programme gives slace ti appreciate the Cabs’ expansion towards the club, including John Robie’s dub of “Thank You America” and François Kevorkian’s twelve-inch treatment of “Sex, Money, Freaks.” These credits sketch a dancefloor geography extending well beyond Sheffield. The songs become material to be handled by people with different ideas about the movement of a body.
Sherwood’s “Here To Go (Adrian Sherwood Live Drum Jacknife Remix)” is also included. It makes a suitable contrast to the album’s more contained arrangements. The large number of alternate versions invites selective listening: this is a collection to explore a few cuts at a time, rather than treat as an elongated album.
Work on the reissue began with Richard H. Kirk in 2019 and was completed using his notes, in consultation with Mallinder and Kirk’s estate. That gives the restoration both poignancy and legitimacy. CODE remains resistant to comfortable remembrance. Its hooks offer easy entry, then leave the television talking long after you have tried to switch it off. Better watch your step.
The expanded digital edition is scheduled for 11 December 2026 through Mute. The complete programme and advance tracks are available on Cabaret Voltaire’s official Bandcamp page.