Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain

by Current 93

Overview

Blasted blues carved from a conceptual monolith that might well be David Tibet's most inflamed vision since The Inmost Light, Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain is the sound of Current 93 at their most bruising. Sonically, it is a smorgasbord of feedback and electronics, shrieking shots and shocks of imagery that commence their assault on the opening "Aleph Is the Butterfly Net"; dip for the contrarily hushed "As Real as Rainbows," with its snatches of speech and conversation whispered out by a guesting Sasha Grey; and then implode again around the sepulchral "Invocation of Almost," guitars screaming like incendiary bombs while Tibet recites with almost Biblical solemnity over a carnage that is all the more effective for its unpredictability. It is arguable whether Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain could be considered Current 93's heaviest album, since the nightmare loops of their '80s output also sleep beneath some of Tibet's tenderest melodies: "On Docetic Mountain" is mournfully beautiful because of, not despite, the riffs that scythe across the cellos; "Poppyskins" is epic regardless of the absence of any obviously ear-catching embellishments; and "UrShadow" could have been culled from almost any Current 93 album, at almost any time. This is the beauty of Tibet's constantly shifting and eternally mesmerizing vision; at his best (and this album is up there with any of it), he is not simply timeless. He eclipses time altogether. ~ Dave Thompson

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2009
Label:	Coptic Cat
UPC:	0655035220413

Tracks

1. Invocation of Almost
2. Poppyskins
3. On Docetic Mountain
4. 26 April 2007
5. Aleph Is the Butterfly Net
6. Not Because the Fox Barks
7. UrShadow
8. As Real as Rainbows

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Current 93   Primary Artist
Andrew Liles   Guitar,Electronics
Steve Stapleton   Electronics
Andrew W.K.   Bass,Piano,Vocals,Finger Bells,Guitar (Bass)
Baby Dee   Piano
John Contreras   Cello,Synthesizer
David Tibet   Guitar,Vocals
Matt Sweeney   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
Rickie Lee Jones   Vocals,Guest Artist
Alex Neilson   Drums,Percussion
James Blackshaw   Piano,Guitar (12 String),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Andria Degens   Vocals,Appalachian Dulcimer
Alice Rousham   Guest Artist
Henry Rousham   Vocals
Sasha Grey   Vocals
William Breeze   Viola,Sampling
Alexander Neilson   Drums,Percussion
Ossian Brown   Organ,Electronics,Synthesizer
Keith Wood   Slide Guitar,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)

Technical Credits

Andrew Liles   Mixing,Producer,Group Member,Audio Production
Steve Stapleton   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Group Member,Audio Production
Andrew W.K.   Group Member
Current 93   Composer
John Contreras   Group Member
David Tibet   Text,Design,Leader,Mixing,Artwork,Composer,Producer,Group Member,Audio Production
Rickie Lee Jones   Group Member
James Blackshaw   Group Member
Andria Degens   Group Member
William Breeze   Group Member
Alexander Neilson   Group Member
Robert Sands   Engineer
Jake Rousham   Mixing,Engineer
Ossian Brown   Group Member,Sound Architect