Chris Carter (musician)
Encyclopedia
Chris Carter was born on January 28, 1953 in London
, England
and educated at the Friern Barnet Grammar School
. He is best known for being a synthesist and member of Throbbing Gristle
and Chris & Cosey. His longtime partner Cosey Fanni Tutti
is the mother of his son, Nick, as well as a member of Throbbing Gristle
.
and Hawkwind
. This led to commissions for BBC Television
shows, Colour Me Pop and The Old Grey Whistle Test. By the early 1970s' Chris was touring universities and colleges with a solo, multimedia show playing self-built synthesizers and keyboards and incorporating a myriad of lighting effects gleaned from his previous work. During this time he also worked extensively with visual artist John Lacey on many 8 mm & 16 mm experimental films and multimedia presentations.
In the mid 1970s', and through his connection with artist John Lacey, Chris began an experimental music/sound collaboration with Cosey Fanni Tutti
and Genesis P-Orridge
, who were also working as performance art
group COUM Transmissions
with Peter Christopherson
at the time. The results of this musical collaboration was the creation of the now legendary Throbbing Gristle
, Industrial Records
and the birth of the 'Industrial Music' genre.
In 1976 Chris also worked at the London bureau of the ABC News
agency as a sound engineer and during that time designed and constructed their London radio studio. In 1977 he was offered a contract to build another ABC studio in Rome but turned it down to continue his involvement as a member of Throbbing Gristle
.
During the early years of Throbbing Gristle
the four members each continued with other solo projects and work. It was during this period (1980) when Chris recorded his first solo album for Industrial Records
called 'The Space Between', which is now available on Mute Records
. Shortly after the demise of Throbbing Gristle
in 1981, and with help and backing from Rough Trade Records
, Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti
formed their Conspiracy International (aka CTI) record label and began working together as Chris & Cosey and CTI. Initially releasing only music they soon moved into producing video works, and with the help of Doublevision released a number of Conspiracy International (aka CTI) experimental video films and soundtracks. In 1985 Chris released his second solo album Mondo Beat.
As well as successfully touring all over the world Chris & Cosey also recorded and collaborated on innumerable releases, most notably with Annie Lennox
and Dave Stewart
, Robert Wyatt
, Coil
, Boyd Rice
, Lustmord
, Monte Cazazza
and many more. Chris & Cosey and Carter Tutti have also remixed tracks for Mortal Loom and Erasure
, Pantaleimon, Throbbing Gristle
, John Cage
, Current 93
and Chris Ewan (FBH).
In 1994 Chris moved also into journalism and regularly has technical articles and reviews published in UK magazine Sound on Sound
. Chris is also a keen photographer and graphic designer and in collaboration with Cosey Fanni Tutti
has designed and produced numerous album covers, posters and art works. Chris returned to solo performance work in 1995 after a gap of 15 years. His performances included subtle references to his earlier works but with obvious influences from his more recent collaborations. In 1998 Chris released a compilation CD titled Disobedient, consisting of tracks from his 1995 Disobey tour (produced by Paul Smith
). In 2000 he released a solo studio album: Small Moon. In 1998 the album Caged, a collaboration album with electronic musician Ian Boddy
was released on the DiN label.
In 2000 Chris, in collaboration with Cosey Fanni Tutti
, began producing and releasing a series of albums titled: Electronic Ambient Remixes. The first of these, EAR ONE, consisted of dark ambient remixes of his 1980 'The Space Between' album. In 2002 he released EAR THREE a further solo ambient CD, which consists of radical remixes of his original Throbbing Gristle
industrial rhythm tracks.
In 2003 Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti
stopped releasing material and performing as Chris & Cosey and began producing all their work under the title of Carter Tutti. One of their first appearances as Carter Tutti was a special quadraphonic performance in the Disney Theatre at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
in 2005. Chris Carter and the other original members of Throbbing Gristle
regrouped the band in 2003 and released the TG24
CD boxed set, with an accompanying art exhibition in London. TG performances followed in London, Camber Sands, Turin, Berlin, Barcelona and Paris.
During 2007 Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti
again worked on numerous Throbbing Gristle
projects, recordings, installations, exhibitions and performances. These included their groundbreaking audio/visual performance at Tate Modern
turbine hall and their 3-day 'public recording session' at the ICA
London. Chris Carter has recently finished working on a new Carter Tutti album entitled: 'Feral Vapours of the Silver Ether' which is released on the Conspiracy International (aka CTI) label and is already being heaped with praise and rave reviews and is being acclaimed as "their finest yet". Chris Carter continues to work and collaborate with both Cosey Fanni Tutti
and Throbbing Gristle
. He is also currently working on a new solo experimental audio project titled CCCL. and is producing a new Carter Tutti film, due for release on DVD in 2008.
device with a tilt sensor.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and educated at the Friern Barnet Grammar School
Friern Barnet Grammar School
The Friern Barnet Grammar School was a small independent day school for boys located on Friern Barnet Road, North London.It was later absorbed into the co-educational Woodside Park School foundation which is today known as The North London International School, notably one of the first schools to...
. He is best known for being a synthesist and member of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
and Chris & Cosey. His longtime partner Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
is the mother of his son, Nick, as well as a member of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
.
Background
He began his career in the late 1960s' working for various UK TV stations (Thames, Granada and LWT) as a sound engineer on numerous TV shows and documentaries. This gave him an invaluable grounding in sound and audio techniques and theories. He also found himself getting more involved in the visual side of entertainment, which eventually progressed into designing and presenting light shows and visual effects for numerous festivals, events and gigs, including bands as diverse as YesYes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
and Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
. This led to commissions for BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
shows, Colour Me Pop and The Old Grey Whistle Test. By the early 1970s' Chris was touring universities and colleges with a solo, multimedia show playing self-built synthesizers and keyboards and incorporating a myriad of lighting effects gleaned from his previous work. During this time he also worked extensively with visual artist John Lacey on many 8 mm & 16 mm experimental films and multimedia presentations.
In the mid 1970s', and through his connection with artist John Lacey, Chris began an experimental music/sound collaboration with Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
and Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist. P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution,...
, who were also working as performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
group COUM Transmissions
COUM Transmissions
COUM Transmissions was a performance art group interested in pushing boundaries, influenced by Dada and the Merry Pranksters.CT was a whimsical, eccentric as well as confrontational band and performance art group, from Hull, Yorkshire – a collective the constants of which were its...
with Peter Christopherson
Peter Christopherson
Peter Martin Christopherson, a.k.a. Sleazy was a musician, video director and designer, and former member of the influential British design agency Hipgnosis....
at the time. The results of this musical collaboration was the creation of the now legendary Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
, Industrial Records
Industrial Records
Industrial Records was a record label established in 1976 by art/music group Throbbing Gristle. The group, fronted by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Chris Carter, and Peter Christopherson, were to release their experiments in non-entertainment sound and multimedia through the label; in...
and the birth of the 'Industrial Music' genre.
In 1976 Chris also worked at the London bureau of the ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
agency as a sound engineer and during that time designed and constructed their London radio studio. In 1977 he was offered a contract to build another ABC studio in Rome but turned it down to continue his involvement as a member of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
.
During the early years of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
the four members each continued with other solo projects and work. It was during this period (1980) when Chris recorded his first solo album for Industrial Records
Industrial Records
Industrial Records was a record label established in 1976 by art/music group Throbbing Gristle. The group, fronted by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Chris Carter, and Peter Christopherson, were to release their experiments in non-entertainment sound and multimedia through the label; in...
called 'The Space Between', which is now available on Mute Records
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
. Shortly after the demise of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
in 1981, and with help and backing from Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
, Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
formed their Conspiracy International (aka CTI) record label and began working together as Chris & Cosey and CTI. Initially releasing only music they soon moved into producing video works, and with the help of Doublevision released a number of Conspiracy International (aka CTI) experimental video films and soundtracks. In 1985 Chris released his second solo album Mondo Beat.
As well as successfully touring all over the world Chris & Cosey also recorded and collaborated on innumerable releases, most notably with Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
and Dave Stewart
David A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
, Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
, Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
, Boyd Rice
Boyd Rice
Boyd Blake Rice is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s, archivist, actor, photographer, author, member of the Partridge Family Temple religious group, co-founder of the UNPOP art movement and current staff writer for Modern Drunkard...
, Lustmord
Lustmord
Brian Williams is a British electronic musician often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord.- History :Williams started recording as Lustmord in 1980 before joining SPK in 1982...
, Monte Cazazza
Monte Cazazza
Monte Cazazza is an American artist and composer best known for his seminal role in helping shape the early landscape of industrial music through recordings with the London-based Industrial Records in the mid-1970s.-Career:...
and many more. Chris & Cosey and Carter Tutti have also remixed tracks for Mortal Loom and Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
, Pantaleimon, Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
, John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Current 93
Current 93
Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
and Chris Ewan (FBH).
In 1994 Chris moved also into journalism and regularly has technical articles and reviews published in UK magazine Sound on Sound
Sound on Sound
Sound on Sound is an independently-owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, UK. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, and interviews with industry professionals...
. Chris is also a keen photographer and graphic designer and in collaboration with Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
has designed and produced numerous album covers, posters and art works. Chris returned to solo performance work in 1995 after a gap of 15 years. His performances included subtle references to his earlier works but with obvious influences from his more recent collaborations. In 1998 Chris released a compilation CD titled Disobedient, consisting of tracks from his 1995 Disobey tour (produced by Paul Smith
Paul Smith (music industry)
Paul Smith is probably best known as the founder and manager of Blast First, the British alternative record label that released artists such as Sonic Youth, the Butthole Surfers, Big Black and Dinosaur Jr. in the UK. He continued to manage the artists and work in the music industry when Blast First...
). In 2000 he released a solo studio album: Small Moon. In 1998 the album Caged, a collaboration album with electronic musician Ian Boddy
Ian Boddy
Ian Boddy is a British electronic musician and composer. In the early 1980s Boddy began experimenting at an Arts Council funded studio in Newcastle. This period resulted in 3 cassette releases on the Mirage label, which showcased Boddy's work with analogue synthesis and tape manipulation. "Images"...
was released on the DiN label.
In 2000 Chris, in collaboration with Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
, began producing and releasing a series of albums titled: Electronic Ambient Remixes. The first of these, EAR ONE, consisted of dark ambient remixes of his 1980 'The Space Between' album. In 2002 he released EAR THREE a further solo ambient CD, which consists of radical remixes of his original Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
industrial rhythm tracks.
In 2003 Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
stopped releasing material and performing as Chris & Cosey and began producing all their work under the title of Carter Tutti. One of their first appearances as Carter Tutti was a special quadraphonic performance in the Disney Theatre at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
in 2005. Chris Carter and the other original members of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
regrouped the band in 2003 and released the TG24
TG24
TG24 is a box set by industrial music pioneers Throbbing Gristle.-Cassette set:TG24 was originally released as a cassette boxed set in 1980. The set contained the first of Throbbing Gristles 24 shows in addition to two C90 cassettes taken from a Throbbing Gristle radio interview...
CD boxed set, with an accompanying art exhibition in London. TG performances followed in London, Camber Sands, Turin, Berlin, Barcelona and Paris.
During 2007 Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
again worked on numerous Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
projects, recordings, installations, exhibitions and performances. These included their groundbreaking audio/visual performance at Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
turbine hall and their 3-day 'public recording session' at the ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
London. Chris Carter has recently finished working on a new Carter Tutti album entitled: 'Feral Vapours of the Silver Ether' which is released on the Conspiracy International (aka CTI) label and is already being heaped with praise and rave reviews and is being acclaimed as "their finest yet". Chris Carter continues to work and collaborate with both Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
and Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
. He is also currently working on a new solo experimental audio project titled CCCL. and is producing a new Carter Tutti film, due for release on DVD in 2008.
Inventions
Carter has invented a sound generator called The Dirty Carter Experimental Sound Generating Instrument—a circuit bendingCircuit bending
Circuit bending is the creative customization of the circuits within electronic devices such as low voltage, battery-powered guitar effects, children's toys and small digital synthesizers to create new musical or visual instruments and sound generators....
device with a tilt sensor.
Discography
(NOT including Throbbing Gristle, Carter Tutti or Chris & Cosey releases)- The Space Between: Solo album, cassette release by Industrial Records, 1980.
- The Space Between: Solo album, cassette re-release by Third Mind, 1983.
- Mondo Beat: Solo album, vinyl/cassette released by CTI/Rough Trade 1985.
- Mondo Beat: Solo album, CD/vinyl/cassette re-released by Play It Again Sam 1989.
- The Space Between. Solo CD album released by Mute Records 1991.
- The Space Between. Solo album, CD/cassette released by Elektra, USA 1991.
- The Space Between. Solo album, CD released by Alfa, Japan 1991.
- Collectiv 1. Solo CD album released by CTI 1996.
- Disobedient. Live solo CD album released by CTI 1998.
- Small Moon: Solo CD album, released by CTI 1999.
- Electronic Ambient Remixes 1. Solo CD album released by CTI 2000.
- Electronic Ambient Remixes 3. Solo CD album released by CTI 2002.
- Feral Vapours of the Silver Ether. Carter Tutti album released by CTI 2007.
External links
- Chris Carter official web site http://www.chriscarter.co.uk
- Carter Tutti official web site http://www.cartertutti.com
- Throbbing Gristle official web site http://www.throbbing-gristle.com