Biography
-
Years Active
1988 – present (36 years)
-
Founded In
London, England, United Kingdom
-
Members
- Ben Golomstock
- Donna McKevitt (1992 – 1994)
- Hepzibah Sessa (1993 – 1995)
- Jocelyn West (1988 – 1991)
- Katharine Blake (1988 – present)
Miranda Sex Garden are a band formed in London, UK, in 1989, currently on an extended hiatus. Originally a trio of madrigal singers comprising Kelly McCusker, Jocelyn West and main vocalist Katharine Blake. The first album, "Madra", was entirely a cappella, with the songs all based on English renaissance verse. For their second release, the mini album "Iris", the sound evolved into a blend of their madrigal-styled vocals with sounds reminiscent of gothic rock, darkwave and ethereal wave. It was at this point the band line up expanded to include Ben Golomstock and Trevor Sharpe providing percussion, drums, guitars and organs.
The band line-up stayed stable for the release of the next album, named after a Dario Argento's film, "Suspiria", which is where the bands full sound was realized. A spin-off band, "The Waltzing Maggots" were gigging around this time, taking their name from the bizarre tracks "Widdle Biddle and His Waltzing Maggot", and "Willie Biddle in His Watery Grave".
Around the time of their third album, "Fairytales of Slavery", they said they wanted to create music that evoked a "seductive garden of earthly delights, full of color and chaos". For the release of the "Peepshow" single the band actually played naked in the window of one of the main record stores in London with the windows blocked out apart from a peephole apparently…
The band took a hiatus after the release of "Fairytales of Slavery" during which founder member Katharine Blake formed the wildly successful all girl band Mediaeval Baebes who debuted at number 1 in the classical charts with their "Salva Nos" album.
Miranda Sex Garden then reformed and released in 2000 the best album of their career, the aptly named "Carnival of Souls", featuring the bands swan song "Without Trace". The band also contributed a song to a Radiohead tribute entitled "Exit music for a film".
After this the Mediaeval Baebes took over as Katharine's main concern, and MSG fell into a slumber.
In 2006 Ben Golomstock released a solo album under the name Stories from the Moon which featured members of Miranda Sex Garden, Mediaeval Baebes, Queen Adreena, Colt, etc. which highly reprized the traditional MSG sound.
In 2007 Katharine Blake released her first solo album, "Midnight Flower", and In March 2009 Jocelyn West released her solo album, "Salt Bird".
Members:
The members in the group have changed significantly over time; only Katharine Blake remained in the group for their entire run.
The performers on their last album, Carnival of Souls, were:
Katharine Blake - vocals, violin, keyboards, recorder (1991-2000)
Trevor Sharpe - drums (1992-2000)
Ben Golomstock - guitar, keyboards (1992-2000)
Teresa Casella (ex-Mediæval Bæbes) - bass guitar (2000)
Mike Servent - keyboards (2000)
Barney Hollington (The Urban Voodoo Machine) - violin and Hammond organ (2000)
Former members:
Jocelyn West (Jocelyn Montgomery) - vocals (1991)
Kelly McCusker - vocals, violin (1991-1993)
Donna McKevitt - vocals, viola (1992-1994)
Hepzibah Sessa - vocals, violin, keyboards, percussion (1994)
Discography:
Albums:
1991 - Madra
1992 - Iris (EP)
1993 - Suspiria
1994 - Fairytales of Slavery
2000 - Carnival of Souls
Singles:
1991 - Gush Forth My Tears
1993 - Play
1993 - Sunshine
1994 - Peep Show
2000 - Tonight/Sex Garden
Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
