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Current 93
Current 93 in 2006
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Apocalyptic folk experimental psychedelic folk post-industrial
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Coptic Cat Durtro United Dairies Jnana L.A.Y.L.A.H. Antirecords Beta-lactam Ring
Members	David Tibet
Past members	Steven Stapleton Michael Cashmore Douglas P. Rose McDowall Christoph Heemann William Breeze Tony Wakeford Maja Elliott Graham Jeffery Joolie Wood

Current 93 are an English experimental music group, founded in 1982 by David Tibet. 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.

Background

Current 93 initially consisted of Tibet, fellow Psychic TV alumnus Jhonn Balance, and 23 Skidoo member Fritz Catlin. 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. 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.

Literary influences include Lautreamont's Les Chants de Maldoror, the Bible and its apocrypha, The Poetic Eddas, the Child Ballads, 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, and Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker.

Discography

Primary, full-length, Current 93 studio albums

• Nature Unveiled (1984)
• Dogs Blood Rising (1984)
• In Menstrual Night (1986)
• Dawn (1987)
• Imperium (1987)
• Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow (1988)
• Swastikas for Noddy (1988)
• Earth Covers Earth (1988)
• Crooked Crosses for the Nodding God (1989)
• Looney Runes (1990)
• Thunder Perfect Mind (1992)
• Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre (1994)
• All the Pretty Little Horses: The Inmost Light (1996)
• Soft Black Stars (1998)
• Sleep Has His House (2000)
• How He Loved the Moon (Moonsongs for Jhonn Balance) (2005)
• Black Ships Ate the Sky (2006)
• Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain (2009)
• Baalstorm, Sing Omega (2010)
• HoneySuckle Æons (2011)
• I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell: A Channel (2014)
• The Light Is Leaving Us All (2018)
• If a City Is Set Upon a Hill (2022)

Full discography

Compilation appearances

• "Black Ships Ate the Sky (Alternate Mix)" on Brainwaves (2006)

Current 93 Presents releases

• 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 collaborators

Current 93 recordings often involve a wide range of collaborators, from musicians to occultists. Apart from those mentioned earlier, these have included:

• 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)

Timeline

Only long-term contributors are included in the chart below.

References

1. ^ "Interviews: Current 93". Pitchfork. 11 September 2006. Archived from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
2. "Current 93". All Music. Rovi Corp. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
3. Thompson, Dave (15 July 2023). "Murderous Ballads". An Evolving Tradition: The Child Ballads in Modern Folk and Rock Music. Essex, Connecticut: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 385–391. ISBN 978-1-4930-6824-1.
4. ^ Young, Rob (10 May 2011). Electric Eden. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 602–603. ISBN 978-1-4299-6589-7.
5. "Riddley Walker – Related Works". Graphesthesia.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2010.

Further reading

• Thompson, Dave (2000). "Current 93". Alternative Rock. San Francisco : Berkeley, CA : Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 308–310. ISBN 978-0-87930-607-6.
• Barnes, Mike (May 2001). "Invisible Jukebox: Current 93". The Wire. No. 207. pp. 20–23.
• Buckley, Peter (2003). "Current 93". The Rough Guide to Rock. London; New York: Rough Guides. pp. 259–258. ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6. OCLC 52830850.
• Keenan, David (2003). England's Hidden Reverse: Coil, Current 93, Nurse with Wound: a Secret History of the Esoteric Underground. SAF Publishing. ISBN 978-0-946719-40-2.
• Powell, Lee (2006). "David Tibet – C93 interview". Judas Kiss. Archived from the original on 10 September 2007.
• Moline, Keith (July 2006). "The Road to Salvation: Current 93". The Wire. No. 269. pp. 28–33.
• Hegarty, Paul; Halliwell, Martin (23 June 2011). "The Return of Folk". Beyond and Before: Progressive Rock Since the 1960s. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 245–248, 283. ISBN 978-0-8264-2332-0. OCLC 741683751.
• Bayer, Ruth (23 April 2019). Skipping to Armageddon: Photographs of Current 93 and Friends. MIT Press. ISBN 978-1-907222-45-0.

External links

• Official archive at Brainwashed, extensive discography, live information archive, related literary sources.
• Current 93 at Bandcamp
• Current 93 discography at Discogs
• Current 93 discography at MusicBrainz

• Current 93
• English industrial music groups
• English experimental musical groups
• Psychedelic folk groups
• Neofolk music groups
• English musical trios
• Musical groups established in 1982
• Musical groups from London