Current 93
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Current 93 are an English experimental music group, founded in 1982 by David Tibet.<ref name=pf /> Much of Current 93's early work was similar to late 1970s and early 1980s industrial music: abrasive tape loops, droning synthesizer noises and Tibet's distorted, excoriating vocals. In the mid-'80s, Current 93's sound shifted to a style Tibet has called "apocalyptic folk", combining folk music with industrial elements. Tibet has been the only constant member of Current 93, with a wide variety of collaborators joining in over the years. They have released over twenty full-length albums, as well as many other recordings.
BackgroundEdit
Current 93 initially consisted of Tibet, fellow Psychic TV alumnus Jhonn Balance, and 23 Skidoo member Fritz Catlin.<ref name=pf /> Tibet has been the only constant member in the group, though Steven Stapleton (of Nurse with Wound) appeared on nearly every Current 93 release until 2010.<ref name="93 bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Michael Cashmore was also a long-term contributor starting with Thunder Perfect Mind. Douglas P. of Death in June has played on well over a dozen Current 93 releases.
Tibet's lyrics have been fairly consistent, regardless of delivery: The earlier recordings reflect his preoccupation with death, Christ, mysticism, Aleister Crowley (Tibet borrowed the term "93 Current" from Crowley – the 93 Current being the current of Thelema or Agape), Tibetan Buddhism, Gnosticism, runes, swastikas, Noddy, The Wicker Man, and a variety of occult notions. The later to present-day period of Current 93's recordings increasingly reflect Tibet's interest in Christian mysticism and apocalypse. Tibet has stated that he identifies as a Christian.<ref name=pf>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Literary influences include Lautreamont's Les Chants de Maldoror, the Bible and its apocrypha, The Poetic Eddas, the Child Ballads,<ref name="t112">Template:Cite book</ref> Hildegard von Bingen, Yukio Mishima, John Dee's De Heptarchia Mystica, The Thunder, Perfect Mind, William Blake, Louis Wain, writer Thomas Ligotti, occult British author Arthur Machen (originator of the title "The Inmost Light"), M.R. James's various ghost stories, The Cloud of Unknowing, Count Eric Stenbock,<ref name="n708" /> and Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DiscographyEdit
Primary, full-length, Current 93 studio albumsEdit
Full discographyEdit
Year | Title | Format and special notes |
---|---|---|
1983 | Mi-Mort | cassette split with Nurse with Wound |
1984 | LAShTAL | 12" |
1984 | Nature Unveiled | LP (reissued on CD,1992) |
1984 | No Hiding from the Blackbird | 7" split w/ Nurse With Wound |
1984 | Dogs Blood Rising | LP (reissued on CD, 1988 and 1995) |
1985 | Live at Bar Maldoror | LP (reissued on CD 1990 and 1994) |
1985 | Nightmare Culture | EP split with Sickness of Snakes (Coil/Boyd Rice) |
1986 | In Menstrual Night | LP (reissued on CD, 1994) |
1986 | NL Centrum-Amsterdam | live cassette split w/ Nurse With Wound |
1987 | Happy Birthday | 12" |
1987 | Dawn | LP (reissued on CD, 1994) |
1987 | Imperium | LP (reissued on CD, 2001) |
1987 | Crowleymass (with HÖH) | 12"/CDS (reissued in 1997) |
1988 | Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow | 2xLP (reissued on CD, 1994) |
1988 | The Red Face of God | 12" (reissued on CD with above, 1994) |
1988 | Swastikas for Noddy | LP (reissued on CD as Swastikas for Goddy, 1993) |
1988 | Faith's Favourites | 12" split with Nurse with Wound |
1988 | Earth Covers Earth | LP (reissued on CD, 1992) (limited LP reissue, 2005) |
1989 | Rome/Hourglass for Diana/Fields of Rape | 7" (live) |
1989 | She Is Dead and All Fall Down | limited edition 7" |
1989 | Crooked Crosses for the Nodding God | CD |
1990 | Looney Runes | LP, CD 1992 |
1990 | 1888 | split EP with Death in June |
1990 | Horse | LP, part of a box set/split with Sol Invictus and Nurse With Wound (reissued on CD as Horsey with extra/reworked tracks, 1997) |
1991 | Island (with HÖH) | LP/CD |
1991 | As the World Disappears (live) | CD |
1992 | Thunder Perfect Mind | 2xLP/CD (reissued, 1994) |
1992 | Death in June / Current 93 / Sol Invictus (live) | Recorded in Frankfurt, Germany, 1991. Originally a bootleg called Day of Dawn, officially reissued on CD. |
1993 | Emblems: The Menstrual Years | LP, issued as 2xCD retrospective |
1993 | Hitler as Kalki | CD |
1994 | Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre | LP/CD |
1994 | The Fire of the Mind | CD/MiniAlbum |
1994 | Lucifer Over London | EP/CD |
1994 | Tamlin | 12"/CDS |
1995 | Where The Long Shadows Fall | 12"/CDS |
1996 | All The Pretty Little Horses: The Inmost Light | LP/CD |
1996 | The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home | 12"/CDS |
1996 | Untitled, a.k.a. Seven Seals | CD-EP with Tiny Tim, Nurse with Wound and Nature and Organization |
1997 | In a Foreign Town, in a Foreign Land | limited CD, accompanied Thomas Ligotti book of same name |
1998 | Soft Black Stars | LP/CD/sheet music, (reissued on CD in 2005) |
1999 | Calling for Vanished Faces | 2xCD retrospective |
1999 | An Introduction to Suffering | Current 93/Michael Cashmore/Christoph Heemann LP/CD |
1999 | Misery Farm | CDS |
1999 | All Dolled Up Like Christ | 2x Live CD |
2000 | I Have a Special Plan for This World | 12"/CD, Thomas Ligotti prose poem read by Tibet, treated by Current 93 |
2000 | Sleep Has His House | LP/CD |
2000 | Faust | LP/CD |
2001 | The Great in the Small | LP/CD |
2001 | Cats Drunk on Copper | CD (Live at the Union Chapel, London, 3 May 1997) |
2001 | Bright Yellow Moon | 2x12"/CD Current 93/Nurse with Wound |
2001 | Purtle | CD Split w/ Nurse with Wound |
2001 | This Degenerate Little Town | CD with Thomas Ligotti |
2002 | The Seahorse Rears to Oblivion | 12"/CD |
2002 | Music for the Horse Hospital | 2xCD Current 93/Nurse with Wound |
2003 | A Little Menstrual Night Music | CD containing remixes of tracks from In Menstrual Night |
2003 | Calling For Vanished Faces/Virgin Mary | 7" split with Antony and the Johnsons; UK PanDurtro 008 |
2003 | Live at St. Olave's | CD EP split with Antony and the Johnsons; UK PanDurtro 007 |
2004 | Halo | Live CD |
2004 | SixSixSix: SickSickSick | CD compilation of Tamlin, Lucifer over London, Misery Farm, and two pieces from Looney Runes |
2005 | How I Devoured Apocalypse Balloon | 2xCD (Live at St. George The Martyr Anglican Church, Toronto, 18–19 June 2004) |
2005 | ⲛⲧⲛⲁⲩ ⲛϩⲱⲧⲡ ⲙⲡⲣⲏ ⲁϩⲉⲛⲉϫⲏⲩ ⲉⲩⲕⲏⲙ ⲟⲩⲉⲙ ⲧⲡⲉ | CDS (promo for Black Ships Ate the Sky; the Coptic title reads "At Sunset Black Ships Ate The Sky") |
2005 | Judas as Black Moth (Hallucinatory Patripassianist Song) | 2xCD "best of"/introduction to C93's works |
2005 | How He Loved The Moon | 2xCD/2xLP (ltd. 1200)/2xLP+7" (ltd. 200), a remixed version of In Menstrual Night |
2005 | Hypnagogue/Hypnagogue II | CD |
2006 | Black Ships Ate the Sky | CD / 2xLP |
2006 | Inerrant Rays of Infallible Sun | Split 10" with Om |
2006 | Black Ships Eat the Sky | CD – Alternate mixes |
2007 | The Inmost Light | 3xCD/2xLP reissue of Where The Long Shadows Fall, All the Pretty Little Horses, and The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home |
2007 | Birdsong in The Empire | Live CD (ltd. 1200) Recorded in Toronto, Canada, 2005 |
2008 | Black Ships Heat the Dancefloor | Blue 12" single/DualDisc, remixes by JG Thirlwell and Matmos |
2008 | Birth Canal Blues | CD EP April 2008 |
2009 | Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain | CD/LP |
2010 | Baalstorm, Sing Omega | CD/LP |
2010 | Haunted Waves, Moving Graves | Limited-edition CD (999 copies) and 12" picture disc (666 copies). Both editions have different track listings. |
2010 | When the May Rain Comes | 12" purple & white vinyl (200 copies). 12" purple vinyl (300 copies). 12" black vinyl (500 copies). CD EP (Deluxe Digipak 6 panel). |
2011 | HoneySuckle Æons | Released 24 March 2011 |
2012 | When Rome Falls, Falls the World | Live CD |
2014 | I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell: A Channel | CD/LP |
2015 | The Moons at Your Door | CD/LP |
2018 | The Light Is Leaving Us All | CD/LP |
2019 | Invocations of Almost | CD/LP (the 12" LP has a slightly shorter version and mix than the 59-minute CD) |
2022 | If a City Is Set Upon a Hill | CD/LP |
Compilation appearancesEdit
- "Black Ships Ate the Sky (Alternate Mix)" on Brainwaves (2006)
Current 93 Presents releasesEdit
- 1986 Aleister Crowley – The Hastings Archives/The World As Power LP
- 1988 The Venerable 'Chi.med Rig. 'dzin Lama, Rinpoche – Tantric rNying.ma Chant of Tibet LP/CD
- 1990 Harry Oldfield – Crystal LP/CD
- 1990 Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson – Edda LP/CD
- 1992 Shirley Collins – Fountain of Snow CD
- 1995 Tiny Tim – Songs of an Impotent Troubadour CD
- 1997 The Aryan Aquarians – Meet Their Waterloo LP/CD
Members and collaboratorsEdit
Current 93 recordings often involve a wide range of collaborators, from musicians to occultists. Apart from those mentioned earlier, these have included:<ref name="n708">Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Div col
- Alasdair Roberts
- Alex Neilson
- Andrew W.K.
- Andrew Liles
- Annie Anxiety
- Anohni
- Armen Ra
- Baby Dee
- Ben Chasny
- Björk
- Bobbie Watson
- Bogomil Font
- Boyd Rice
- The Venerable `Chimed Rig'dzin Lama, Rinpoche
- Chris Carter
- Christoph Heemann
- Diana Rogerson
- Clodagh Simonds
- Cosey Fanni Tutti
- Edward Ka-Spel
- Einar Örn
- Freya Aswynn (runologist)
- Godkrist
- Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson
- Ian Read
- Jack Barnett
- James Blackshaw
- John Balance
- John Murphy
- John Zorn
- Johnny Triumph
- Jon Seagroatt
- Karl Blake
- Ken Thomas
- Matt Sweeney
- Nick Cave
- Nick Saloman
- Norbert Kox
- Ossian Brown
- Rickie Lee Jones
- Rose McDowall
- Sasha Grey
- Shirley Collins
- Stephen Emmel
- Steve Ignorant of Crass (as Stephen Intelligent)
- Thomas Ligotti
- Tony McPhee
- Tony Wakeford
- Will Oldham
- William Basinski
- William Breeze
- Youth (Martin Glover)
TimelineEdit
Only long-term contributors are included in the chart below.
<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:5 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1982 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1982
Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:instruments value:blue legend:Instruments id:mixing value:green legend:Electronics,_mixing,_and_production id:albums value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95)
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
LineData =
color:albums layer:back at:01/01/1984 at:01/01/1987 at:01/01/1988 at:01/01/1989 at:01/01/1990 at:01/01/1992 at:01/01/1994 at:01/01/1996 at:01/01/1998 at:07/01/2000 at:05/23/2006 at:05/01/2009 at:05/01/2010 at:03/01/2011 at:02/01/2014 at:10/13/2018 at:03/12/2022
BarData =
bar:Tibet text:"David Tibet" bar:Stapleton text:"Steven Stapleton" bar:Pierce text:"Douglas P." bar:Cashmore text:"Michael Cashmore" bar:Degens text:"Andria Degens" bar:Chasny text:"Ben Chasny" bar:Dee text:"Baby Dee" bar:Antony text:"Antony" bar:Blackshaw text:"James Blackshaw" bar:Liles text:"Andrew Liles" bar:Brown text:"Ossian Brown" bar:Cave text:"Nick Cave"
PlotData =
width:11 bar:Tibet from:start till:end color:vocals bar:Stapleton from:start till:01/01/2010 color:instruments bar:Stapleton from:start till:01/01/2010 color:mixing width:3 bar:Cashmore from:01/01/1992 till:end color:instruments bar:Pierce from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1993 color:instruments bar:Liles from:05/01/2009 till:end color:instruments bar:Liles from:05/01/2009 till:end color:mixing width:3 bar:Brown from:02/01/2014 till:end color:instruments bar:Chasny from:05/23/2006 till:end color:instruments bar:Blackshaw from:05/01/2009 till:02/01/2014 color:instruments bar:Dee from:05/23/2006 till:02/01/2014 color:instruments bar:Dee from:05/23/2006 till:02/01/2014 color:vocals width:3 bar:Antony from:05/23/2006 till:02/01/2014 color:vocals bar:Degens from:01/01/1996 till:05/01/2009 color:vocals bar:Cave from:01/01/1996 till:01/30/1996 color:vocals bar:Cave from:02/01/2014 till:02/28/2014 color:vocals
</timeline>
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
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External linksEdit
- Official archive at Brainwashed, extensive discography, live information archive, related literary sources.
- Current 93 at Bandcamp
- {{#if:|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs|{{#if:Template:Wikidata|Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs}}}}
- Template:MusicBrainz artist