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 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.
–
John Bush, Rovi