Pitchfork

The scene: a foggy harbour in the wee hours of night. A hulking, brooding, androgynous figure stands at the edge of the longest dock, shirtless and painted entirely in white. At his side, a barefoot, diminutive fellow with a ratty beard and acoustic guitar. The two stare ominously into the moonlit furrows of the sea. Suddenly the pensive silence is shattered by the moan of a foghorn, as a massive black ship materializes out of the mist. At its helm, Current 93's David Tibet. "Come," he says to the pair, "lend your ghostly voices to my new record. Also, join my MySpace."

We're pretty sure that's what went down when Tibet recruited crooners Antony and Will "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" Oldham to sing on the forthcoming Current 93 disc, Black Ships Ate the Sky. The 76-minute opus arrives this May via Tibet's Durtro Jnana label and also features contributions from Soft Cell's Marc Almond, Colin Meloy-approved folk princess Shirley Collins, Mellow Candle's Clodagh Simonds, Cosey Fanni Tutti, and Durtro labelmates Baby Dee and Pantaleimon.

Quoth David: "[Black Ships is] the closest I have come to picturing what I hope, and feel, and love, and fear." These be the cuts:

01 Idumea [feat. Marc Almond]
02 Sunset (The Death of Thumbelina)
03 Black Ships in the Sky
04 Then Kill Cæsar
05 Idumea [feat. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy]
06 This Autistic Imperium Is Nihil Reich
07 The Dissolution of the Boat "Millions of Years"
08 Idumea [feat. Baby Dee]
09 Bind Your Tortoise Mouth
10 Idumea [feat. Antony]
11 Black Ships Seen Last Year South of Heaven
12 Abba Amma (Babylon Destroyer)
13 Idumea [feat. Clodagh Simonds]
14 Black Ships Were Sinking / Idumea [feat. Cosey Fanni Tutti]
15 The Beautiful Dancing Dust [feat. Antony]
16 Idumea [feat. Pantaleimon]
17 Vauvauvau (Black Ships in Their Harbour)
18 Idumea
19 Black Ships Ate the Sky
20 Why Cæsar Is Burning Part II
21 Idumea [feat. Shirley Collins]

The present incarnation of Current 93 includes mainstay Tibet, Michael Cashmore (Nature and Organisation), Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance), Steve Stapleton (Nurse With Wound), and John Contreras, with contributions from William Basinski, William Breeze, and Seattle jewelry mistress Amy Phillips (no relation to our news editor).

This merry troupe has but one live date scheduled at the moment, although Tibet presumes C93 will tour the U.S. and Europe following the release of Black Ships. For now:

04-09 Nantes, France - Le Lieu Unique *

* with Six Organs of Admittance, OM

Finally, as previously reported, 2006 will be the year most Current 93 devotees file for bankruptcy. Jnana just issued the five-disc mega-comp Not Alone, a Doctors Without Borders benefit co-curated by Tibet and featuring contributions from Antony, Bonnie-P, Devendra Banhart, Vashti Bunyan, Six Organs, and numerous other notables. Arriving soon are reissues of a number of C93 classics, including 2000's Sleep Has His House in deluxe format, as well as a book of David Tibet's collected lyrics. And, as if that weren't enough, Neurot Recordings will drop a 10" Current 93/OM split this May. Kids, there has never been a better time to eBay your emo collection.

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