Current 93
With a glut of industrial-pop hybrids on the market in the 1980s and '90s, several bands stayed true to the experimental nature of early industrial music. The Psychic TV axis alone spawned many creative artists, including Current 93's David Tibet, who blends Gothic chanting and haunting atmospherics with industrial noisescapes courtesy of tape loops and synthesizers on one hand and genre blurring Gothic folk on the other. Though Tibet doesn't quite have bandmates, he frequently works with a core of collaborators including ex-Psychic TV compatriot John Balance (more famous for his work with Peter Christopherson in Coil); Fritz Haaman, formerly of 23 Skidoo (like PTV an offshoot of the most influential of the early industrial acts, Throbbing Gristle); Steven Stapleton of Nurse with Wound fame; Rose McDowall of Strawberry Switchblade; and Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, also a former member of Psychic TV. Steven Stapleton is probably the most frequent member, appearing on virtually all Current 93 releases -- a favor which David Tibet returns by working with Stapleton on most projects by Nurse with Wound.
The trio of Tibet, Balance, and Haaman debuted in 1983 by recording the single "Lashtah" for Laylah Records. Until the end of the '80s, Tibet -- utilizing the various lineups -- recorded at a frenetic pace, issuing more than two albums per year for both Laylah and the Maldoror label. By the '90s, Tibet's output and style changed slightly: his productivity slowed somewhat, and the sound grew more subdued, encompassing acoustic folk in its most sinister permutations. Productivity picked up in the 2000s with more Current 93 material being recorded and reissued. Tibet also designed a bottle label for the Absinthe liquor company in 2005. 2006 saw the release of both Black Ships Ate the Sky and Sleep Has His House on Durtro Records, followed by Inmost Light in April 2007. The latter record marked a new direction for C93. In 2009, they released Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain amid a flurry of other activity including Tibet's art exhibitions and touring. Though it kept its mostly acoustic dreamy feel, Tibet expanded his sonic palette and added some real electric, nightmarish rock on this set. Some of its special guests included guitarist James Blackshaw, Rickie Lee Jones, and Andrew W.K. A new Tibet side project, Myrninerest was formed with some of Current 93's collaborators including Blackshaw, and Andrew Liles. Their debut, "Jhonn," Uttered Babylon, was recorded in memory of Jhonn Balance of Coil and released in 2012.
Current 93 continued to play live sporadically, and returned to recording in 2013. I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell was released in March of 2014. After a short tour, Tibet followed with the two-track, 35-minute EP The Moons at Your Door the following year. He spent time working on his painting, toured with C93, and concentrated on writing, pursuing a number of project over the next three years including art exhibitions. In the fall of 2018, the band issued The Light Is Leaving Us All via the Spheres.
© John Bush /TiVo
Similar artists
-
The Light Is Leaving Us All
Pop - Released by House Of Mythology on Oct 13, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
If A City Is Set Upon A Hill
Folk - Released by 2023 Current 93 on Jul 28, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Island (2024 Remastered Edition)
Current 93, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson
Experimental - Released by HOMALEPH on Mar 29, 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SixSixSix: SickSickSick
Rock - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Aug 31, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All the Pretty Little Horses (The Inmost Light)
Rock - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Apr 12, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thunder Perfect Mind
Rock - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Aug 31, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre (The Broken Heart of Man)
Rock - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Aug 31, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Moons at Your Door
Ambient - Released by House Of Mythology on Jan 27, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain
Progressive Rock - Released by Coptic Cat on May 25, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Soft Black Stars
Rock - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sleep Has His House
Rock - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Mar 2, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nature Unveiled
Alternative & Indie - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Dec 31, 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swastikas For Goddy
Alternative & Indie - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Jan 1, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Baalstorm, Sing Omega
Alternative & Indie - Released by Coptic Cat on Jun 28, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dogs Blood Rising (Remastered)
Progressive Rock - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Nov 25, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell: A Channel
Alternative & Indie - Released by The Spheres on Feb 11, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Honeysuckle Aeons
Alternative & Indie - Released by Coptic Cat on Apr 4, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Bright Dead Star
Classical - Released by House Of Mythology on Oct 13, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christ And The Pale Queens Mighty In Sorrow
Alternative & Indie - Released by Durtro - Jnana on Dec 31, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black Ships Heat the Dancefloor
Alternative & Indie - Released by Durtro - Jnana on May 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo