Our Music Man behind Cotton Panic!

Cotton Panic! at the Manchester International Festival to 15 July, focuses on how the American Civil War resulted in a cotton famine for Lancashire’s mills and the workers’ solidarity with the slaves of the American south.

Stephen, lecturer in the university’s School of Media, produced a sound track of original material and used modular and analogue synthesisers to make electronic versions of sounds of looms and mills.

The narrative is based on people’s testimonies or traditional weavers and workers’ songs and stories of slavery.

Stephen was a founder member of Cabaret Voltaire, the Sheffield band which had its first releases on Rough Trade and Factory Records in 1978 and continued under the name until 1996.

Cabaret Voltaire played and released music around the world, producing countless records, film and TV soundtracks and had videos exhibited at MOMA in New York. Stephen also ran a number of record labels and promotion companies, worked as a radio producer and presenter as well as being a music journalist.

Stephen Mallinder

Cabaret Voltaire

He said: “I continue to make music with artists around the world and currently recording and playing under the name Wrangler who have recently released the acclaimed album LA Spark which was produced almost entirely using vintage analogue electronic equipment and includes a film and sound composition which was shown in the Tate Turbines Gallery.”

Stephen came to the University of Brighton in 2007 to work for the former Art Design and Media Subject Centre at Grand Parade and ran a number of projects with art and design departments across the UK exploring higher education and the creative industries, online art and design materials and open educational resources.

Between recording and performing, Stephen, who is based in Brighton, is part of the Digital Music and Sound Art programme but has taught on a number of course including journalism, media studies and has given guest talks on fine arts critical practice and music.