a few weeks ago, a friend and i flew to venice to see current 93 for the first time. it was also an opportunity to discover a city i had never been to.current 93 is not a band per se. it is the ongoing project of one man, david tibet, which many artists have participated in and contributed to through the years. the most popular ones are a young björk on 1991's island and nick cave on 1996's all the pretty little horses.
under the current 93/höh moniker, tibet has also released an ep and an album (1987's crowleymass and 1991's island) with icelandic composer hilmar örn hilmarsson. a man probably better known to non icelanders for his collaboration with sigur rós on the odin's raven magic project and his soundtrack to frederick thor fridricksson's film angels of the universe.
in venice, tibet had brought seven musicians to perform with. among them were baby dee and simon finn, two great characters i had never heard about, but with whom i feel in love instantly. such is the power of sincerity.
tibet's discography is vast and very eclectic. although i'm not really into his dark, early eighties output, most of what he has released since the end of his post-industrial days, starting with imperium in 1987, has found a place in my heart. especially 1992's thunder perfect mind and 1998's soft black stars, my favourite current 93 record, a collection of songs for piano and occasional strings. surely, these two are some of the most beautiful albums on my shelves.
venise, the largest carfree city in europe, is also the most atmospheric city i have been to. oh, walking down those dark, deserted narrow alleys at night leading to churches, water, palaces, water, crumbling buildings, water, pretty bridges (that cross over... water!) and other dark, deserted narrow alleys. many times i felt like i was in some creepy movie set during the renaissance. oh, and seeing piazza san marco flooded was quite something too. having to buy proper waterproof shoes was great too. my italian has improved greatly since then!
other that that, it was very cold, very grey, very damp and very grand. proof in pictures.
