Current 93 - Sleep Has His House (Durtro, 2000)

1 Love's Young Dream (3:01)
2 Good Morning, Great Moloch (3:28)
3 The Magical Bird In The Magical Woods (8:45)
4 Red Hawthorn Tree (4:32)
5 Immortal Bird (6:31)
6 Niemandswasser (6:07)
7 Lullaby (1:43)
8 Sleep Has His House (24:14)
9 The God Of Sleep Has Made His House (4:31)

Parmi les nombreux genres explorés par David Tibet au sein de Current 93, nous pourrions qualifier celui de cet album de ‘dark folk ambient’. Visiblement marquée par la mort de son père, la musique de ‘Sleep has his house’, très minimaliste et répétitive, se compose principalement de longues nappes d’harmonium et de quelques accords de guitare qui servent de tribune à la voix mélancolique de David qui récite plus qu’il ne les chante ses textes où, plus que jamais, pointent ses interrogations sur Dieu, l’au-delà et le sens de la vie. Rien de totalement neuf là dedans puisque ces thèmes hantent depuis toujours l’œuvre de Current 93. La petite différence est que David semble n’avoir jamais été aussi intime que sur ce disque avec cette mort qu’il frôle depuis si longtemps et à laquelle il donne même un visage sur l’une de ses peintures ornant la pochette intérieure. Il semble la voir comme une douce compagne à laquelle il aurait confié son père pour un voyage dont la destination inconnue l’angoisse malgré tout.
Guts of Darkness

David Tibet throws himself heartfirst into a single-pointed meditation on loss which is perhaps his finest work to date.
He embraces the painful matter of his father's death with a poignant gentleness, without ever turning away from his own grief and sadness, without once denying the apparent meaninglessness of human suffering, and yet, almost miraculously, without ever surrendering his quiet hope that there may be some peace in death, some small beauty in this world, and some hidden final meaning behind unbearable loss. In following an inner vision towards a goal which is quite far from concern with entertainment or image, he has managed to create an album which is both accessible and entertaining (although hauntingly so). Unflinching attention to the particular and the personal has here accomplished the great art of transmuting a private meditation into a universal elegy, capable of containing, illuminating, and assuaging our own private griefs, both small and large. For me this album serves as a rare reminder of the transformative power and purpose of music, and an affirmation that, while words often abandon us to isolation when we are most in need of them, a true poet is capable of the most exquisitely precise communication. "What drives us on?" Sleep offers refreshing balm to those who didn't even know they needed it. It is never preachy, loud or pushy, but with quiet insistence this masterful work drives us to look into blackness, and to see through it into light.
Brainwashed

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Current 93 / Michael Cashmore / Christoph Heemann - Untitled (An Introduction to Suffering) (Durtro, 1999)

A1 Current Ninety Three An Introduction To Suffering
A2 Current Ninety Three All The Pretty Little Horses
A3 Current Ninety Three Calling For Vanished Faces
A4 Current Ninety Three The Cat Is Dead
A5 Michael Cashmore Untitled
A6 Current Ninety Three In An English Garden
A7 Michael Cashmore Untitled
A8 Current Ninety Three The Flower Is RedRobed
A9 Michael Cashmore A Silence Song, Silent
A10 Current Ninety Three Et In Arcadia Est
A11 Current Ninety Three Moonlight, Or Other Dreams, Or Other Fields
B1 Current Ninety Three Judas As Black Moth
B2 Christoph Heemann Lazy Moon Part I
B3 Christoph Heemann Lazy Moon Part II

Recueil de prises alternatives des albums Soft Black Stars et All the Pretty Little Horses, complété de morceaux de Michael Cashmore et Christoph Heemann enregistrés au moment de Soft Black Stars...

"An Introduction to Suffering", "Moonlight, or Other Dreams, or Other Fields" and "Judas as Black Moth" are out-takes or alternate vocal versions of songs from Soft Black Stars. "All the Pretty Little Horses", "Calling for Vanished Faces" and "The Cat is Dead" are out-takes or alternate vocal versions from All The Pretty Little Horses. "In an English Garden", "The Flower is RedRobed" and "Et in Arcadia Est" are from a discarded album that Current 93 had been working on, some of which later ended up in different form on David Tibet/Steven Stapleton's Musical Pumpkin Cottage LP. The Michael Cashmore and Christoph Heemann tracks were solo pieces that were recorded around the time of Soft Black Stars. Those tracks were completed / recorded in early 1999.
Discogs

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Current 93 - All the Little Pretty Horses (Durtro, 1996)

The Long Shadow Falls (2:15)
All The Pretty Little Horsies (2:35)
Calling For Vanished Faces I (1:50)
The Inmost Night (2:16)
This Carnival Is Dead And Gone (3:11)
The Bloodbells Chime (2:58)
Calling For Vanished Faces II (4:10)
The Frolic (8:11)
The Inmost Light (1:45)
Twilight Twilight Nihil Nihil (8:22)
The Inmost Light Itself (9:29)
All The Pretty Little Horses (2:34)
Patripassian (5:50)

Pièce centrale de la trilogie ‘the inmost light’ initiée avec ‘The long shadows fall’ en 1995 et achevé en 1996 avec ‘The starres are marching sadly home’, tous ces adorables petits chevaux constituent une fois de plus un coup de maître du sieur Tibet et de sa bande, avec quelques réminiscences de l’album ‘Of ruine or some blazing starres’ sorti en 1994. Entre longues plages monotones aux voix distantes (‘Where the long shadows fall’, ‘Twilight twilight…’, ), du Tibet délirant (‘The inmost night’) et ballades folk (‘All the pretty…’ dont une version avec rien de moins que Nick Cave au chant ! ‘The bloodbells chime’, ‘The frolic’…), la preuve est faite que, malgré quelques égarements dans sa discographie (surtout maintenant en fait), Tibet sait toujours accrocher l’auditeur avec ses ambiances uniques et une volonté inébranlable de provoquer l’émotion. Et ça, ça n’est pas donné à tout le monde ! (lundi 25 août 2003)

Guts of Darkness

The neofolk scene is certainly home to some of the most interesting musicians and personalities around. People in this scene range from the homosexual, fascist obsessing, mask sporting men (Douglas Pierce) to the priests in the high church of Satan who partake in organizations promoting male supremacy (Boyd Rice). Any way you look at it neofolk is certainly not a genre lacking in character. As you can tell, sometimes, these figures may carry their personalities out in less than positive manners. David Tibet, the mastermind behind neofolk act Current 93 stands above much of the neofolk scene, he does not need to rely on controversy to become a highly renowned artist, he does so simply by writing some of the most incredible music out there.

All the Pretty Little Horses is considered by many to be the peak of Current 93’s career, and it’s easy to see why. Right away from the first track “The Long Shadows Fall” you know you’re in for a trip, this song is driven by some sort of keyboard build up, unlike like anything I have ever heard before. Soon David Tibet speaks the words “why can’t we all just walk away”, this delivery may be simple, but it’s powerful, and despite being used as an intro track is always worth listening to simply because of how important it is to the album.

David Tibet’s singing is truly one of the most essential and unique aspects about this album, and Current 93 in general. He uses a good deal of variety in his vocal approach throughout All the Pretty Little Horses. On the first version of the title track Tibet uses a soft whisper, this works incredibly well with the lullaby like lyrics, some neofolk musicians try to use the whisper technique to create some sort of “dark atmosphere” but nobody comes close to matching David Tibet’s delivery. In some songs David Tibet may go a bit overboard with his voice, on “The Inmost Light” he sounds rather sadistic, which can be seen as a bit pretentious and distracting but doesn’t really hurt the album too much due to how little he goes that far. Mr. Tibet’s normal singing voice is rather high and very distinct sounding, some may find his voice irritating but it is his style that truly helps Current 93’s music convey so much imagination and emotion.

Lyrically All the Pretty Little Horses is an absolute masterpiece. The entire album deals with rather abstract themes about “the inmost light”. The title track features some beautiful lullaby lyrics as mentioned earlier, other songs such as “The Frolic” contain incredibly well written story like lyrics, that when combined with Tibet’s unique vocals paint a picture in your head truly making the listening experience amazing.

“I walk into the altar room
All the buddhas are smashed there
Avalokitesvara's hundred faces lie shattered
I have done this
I walk to the makeshift redbrick altar a hundred years ago
There is a small brass image there
I have built this
The red and black ants mill around
Unknown journeys
I take my lighter and torch them
I take my lighter and torch them
I weep, I weep
The ants scatter or writhe
I take my lighter and torch them torch them
I have done this
I am surrounded by butterflies”

Some of the tracks contain rather bizarre lyrics, such as “The Bloodbells Chime” or “The Carnival is Dead and Gone”. However despite their oddity these lyrics never prove to be distracting or hurtful to the songs quality.

All the Pretty Little Horses isn’t just masterful in the vocal and lyrical department. Musically this album is simply breathtaking. Overall the instrumentation here is far from complicated, but it certainly does not need to be to create amazing songs. The primary instrument used is the acoustic guitar, which always proves to be playing something incredibly beautiful. Whether it’s picking wonderful melodies or simply strumming pleasant chords to carry the songs along acoustic guitars are utilized very well. Other instruments are frequently thrown into the mix as well; violins make several appearances throughout this release. One of the best moments on the album is the end of “The Blood Bells Chime” when violins are played magnificently over the song to create an amazing climax to the song. Piano playing is also frequently used, which always adds a nice dimension to the songs.

Despite All the Little Pretty Horses amazing qualities it is not without fault. There are a few dragging moments on this release. For example, the song “Twilight Twilight Nihil Nihil” is a very drone-esq song with some interesting spoken sections, it’s cool for a little bit, but halfway through the song you feel like it should have ended already and you’ll find yourself becoming quite bored with it. “The Inmost Light Itself” also lasts a bit longer than it should. Additionally, some will also find David Tibet’s vocals a bit hard to digest at times, and therefore have a harder time enjoying the album.

This albums quality is further enhanced by special appearance, famous singer Nick Cave on the last 2 tracks. Nick Cave sings on the 2nd version of the title track, and his voice fits this song very well because it is so soothing and pleasant, and perfectly matches the mood of the track. He also contributes a spoken poem in the last song “Patripassian”, this song is quite similar to the intro track “The Long Shadows Fall” but a bit longer. The lyrics in this song are very interesting, and Nick Cave has the perfect speaking voice for such a piece.

For some, All the Pretty Horses is an album that will take a few listens to truly understand and appreciate, or like me, you will be able to recognize the genius of the album upon the very first listen. If a voyage of unique folk music that can be extremely moving and beautiful sounds appealing to you, than look no further than this album. All the Pretty Horses is home to everything that is good in neofolk music, and is a release that should be heard by one and all.

Recommended Listening:
-All the Pretty Little Horses
-The Blood Bells Chime
-The Frolic

Steven Moore, Sputnik Music

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Current 93 / Antony & the Johnsons - Live at St Olave's Church (PanDurtro, 2002)

Antony And The Johnsons - You Stand Above Me (1:36)
Antony And The Johnsons - The Lake (4:48)
Antony And The Johnsons - Cripple And The Starfish (4:51)
Current 93 - Judas As Black Moth (1:49)
Current 93 - Sleep Has His House (2:54)
Current 93 - Walking Like Shadow (3:27)

Ce disque ne compte pas tant pour les performances de Current 93, que celles d'Antony. Le court "You Stand Above Me" contient toute la mélancholie que l'on peut en attendre. C'est ensuite la magnifique adaptation de "The Lake", texte d'Edgar Allan Poe, qui a lui seul vaut qu'on achète ce disque puis suit le tendre "Cripple and the Starfish".
Autant Antony n'avait jamais édité de live, autant Current 93 en a pléthore et nous préférerons aller chercher ailleurs... (bientôt...vous dis-je). Judas As Black Moth et Sleep Has His House sont réduits à leur plus simple expression.... c'est finalement "Walking Like Shadow", composé par David Tibet et Steven Stapleton de Nurse With Wound sur le "Bright Yellow Moon" (bientôt.... si y'a des réclamations....), qui sonne le plus juste.

While several Current Ninety Three live outings have been recorded and in due time released, Antony and the Johnsons five years of performances have not seen the same light of day. Perhaps that and the (at the time) upcoming Antony/C93 shows in Portugal and San Francisco were reasons for Durtro to present this EP length disc featuring three tracks apiece from last April's shows. Antony is at the piano, accompanied by Johnson Maxim Moston on violin. "You Stand Above Me" is only one minute and thirty-six seconds but contains all the melancholy and drama one would expect. Antony bellows "while eternity cycles wildly, inside me," over plaintive piano notes, the vibrato of his powerful soprano nestling into every crevice of my mind, body and soul. Antony naturally adapts Edgar Allan Poe's lovely 1827 poem "The Lake" to song, a much more fitting tribute than Lou Reed's ill-advised 'The Raven' (excepting Antony's minimal rendition of Reed's "Perfect Day"). What follows is the tender "Cripple and the Starfish," and what sounds like a well deserved standing ovation. For C93's songs, David Tibet is accompanied by usual suspects Maja Elliott on piano and Michael Cashmore on guitar. "Walking Like Shadow," from C93 and Nurse With Wound's 'Bright Yellow Moon' is musically true. Ditto the brief version of "Judas as Black Moth" from 'Soft Black Stars' which also benefits from additional lyrics, "in the middle of the night as the cats cry in the street, and the scent of flowers is heavy in your hair, the car sweeps by with a murdered child, the car sweeps by with a violated girl". The mammoth title track from 'Sleep Has His House' is reduced to just the main lyrical passage here, the piano and Tibet's voice rising to a fever pitch as he breathlessly chokes on emotion in remembrance of his father. It is magnificent. Too bad there's only three songs each. I'd happily pay more for more. Maybe, just maybe, a future show will come closer to me than 1300 miles away.

Mark Weddle, Brainwashed
Sunday, 09 February 2003

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Current 93 - Thunder Perfect Mind (Durtro, 1992 (2003 reissue x 2CD)

A Beginning (0:44)
The Descent Of Long Satan And Babylon (3:00)
A Sadness Song (4:14)
A Song For Douglas After He's Dead (4:58)
In The Heart Of The Wood And What I Found There (2:50)
Mary Waits In Silence (2:56)
A Silence Song (5:27)
A Lament For My Suzanne (4:20)
Riverdeadbank (3:46)
All The Stars Are Dead Now (9:06)
Rosy Star Tears From Heaven (3:05)
When The May Rain Comes (3:24)
Thunder Perfect Mind I (5:05)
Thunder Perfect Mind II (2:21)
Hitler As Kalki (SDM) (16:28)
A Sad Sadness Song (4:40)
An Ending (2:21)

Suzanne: She And I In Darkness We Lay And Lie (4:26)
Red House (0:28)
Our Lady Of Horsies (6:34)
Anyway, People Die (1:46)
Silence As Christine (2:24)
Maldoror Is Ded Ded Ded Ded (12:10)
They Return To Their Earth (6:18)
In Sadness Sang (4:19)
'Khor Ba'i Nyes Dmigs (1:28)
Lament For Her (3:59)
A Song For Douglas After He's Dead (6:14)
They Return To Their Earth (For My Christ Thorn) (6:52)
A Song For Douglas After He's Dead (Rebirth) (5:43)

Thunder Perfect Mind is an album by the English group Current 93. It is generally considered Current 93's crowning achievement amongst fans and critics alike. It contains two tracks based on the Gnostic poem The Thunder, Perfect Mind, from which the album name comes from. Thunder Perfect Mind has a companion album by the same name recorded by Nurse With Wound, released at the same time, though they have little in common with each other.

The album is one of David Tibet's more personal records, with several songs dedicated to friends, colleagues and people he had met. "All The Stars Are Dead Now" consists of a startling prophecy given to Tibet one night by the Planh of William Blake, while the epic "Hitler As Kalki (SDM)" is dedicated to "my father, who fought Hitler." The liner notes indicate that some believed Hitler was Kalki, the tenth and final incarnation of Vishnu, who would destroy the cosmos upon a white horse at the end of each world cycle.

Original pressings contained a portrait of David Tibet's face, while later pressings contained a drawing of a startled cat drawn by Louis Wain. On its 2003 re-release, the cover sported Tibet's face again, though a second re-issue a year later on Durtro Jnana Records (due to World Serpent's sudden disappearance) featured a beige-toned pattern across the portrait. These later pressings included a bonus disc titled The Thunder, Perfect Mind which contained outtakes and alternate mixes of songs, as well as five live tracks recorded in Paris on December 15, 1990. All of the studio tracks save "Red House" and an acoustic version of "Anyway, People Die" had previously appeared on Emblems: The Menstrual Years.

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