Kora! Kora! Kora! - The Cabaret Voltaire Versions

Rating: * * * *

Here's what you get when tranquil Whakatane meets British steel town. In an unlikely collaboration, New Zealand dub-rock experimentalists Kora have had their ambitious 2007 debut remixed by Richard H. Kirk of Sheffield industrial music pioneers Cabaret Voltaire.

Kirk was inspired into the job after seeing the band live. And by the sounds of it, the resulting album has inspired Kirk - also a prolific solo artist - to reboot Cabaret Voltaire to produce his band's first new music in 15 years.

The overall effect of Kora! Kora! Kora! is like the Whakatane bros have been set up in a steel factory and given instructions to make the people dance.

First track Skankenstein is jarring to start with as an incessant high-pitched twitter and bludgeoning bass intensify before slinking into a gyrating techno-cum-house groove; Pop Your Bubble hit some punishing frequencies first time round, and Kirk's version is just as piercing while adding an arcade game playfulness; and Flow gets off-kilter industrial beats and echoes, unrelenting blips and beeps, and a backdrop of constant din.

While the songs are given dramatic overhauls and at times beaten up (like On My Mind getting whipped with staccato techno) the essence of singer Laughton Kora's voice and the band's rich soulful roots sound is never lost, just cast in steel.

Scott Kara