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.
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 àrn 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.
