Miranda Sex Garden are an English music group from London. They were originally active from 1990 to 2000, reforming in 2022.

Biography

Formed in 1990, Katharine Blake, Kelly McCusker and

Jocelyn West Jocelyn West (formerly Jocelyn Montgomery) is a British musician and actress. West was one of the founding members of the band Miranda Sex Garden. After leaving the band in the early 1990s, she joined the medieval music ensemble Sinfonye. In 199 ...

were originally a trio of

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number o ...

singers. They were educated at

The Purcell School for Young Musicians The Purcell School for Young Musicians is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal i ...

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow re ...

. They were discovered by

Barry Adamson Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958) Discography Studio Albums Compilation Albums EPs Singles Soundtracks References External links * Adamson's art-house
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Barry 1958 births Living people People from ...

when they were singing

s on

Portobello Road Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is ...

in London. He invited them to sing on his ''Delusion'' soundtrack, with the song ''Il Solitario''. After that Daniel Miller invited them to sign a contract with

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

. They recorded their first single ''Gush Forth My Tears'' in March 1991. It was a madrigal with a beat, mixed by Danny Rampling. Their first album, ''

Madra Madra (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested since the Vedic period. The members of the Madra tribe were called the Madrakas. Location The Madras were divided into -Madra ("northe ...

'' (August 1991), was produced by classical producer Tony Faulkner. It was entirely

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

, with the songs all based on traditional English verse. It took only two days to record. By 1992,

had left the band and was replaced by

Donna McKevitt Donna McKevitt (born 1970) is an English composer based in London. She studied viola with Gustav Clarkson and voice with Linda Hirst and gained a BA Hons in music at Kingston Polytechnic. She was a member of Miranda Sex Garden between 1991 and 19 ...

(vocals and viola). More new band members were Ben Golomstock who played guitars and Trevor Sharpe who played drums. On their second release, ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

'' (1992), the sound evolved into a blend of their madrigal-styled vocal harmonies with sounds reminiscent of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

dark wave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

ethereal wave Ethereal wave,Glasnost Wave magazine, issue # 42, p. 32/34, genre classification of the bands Trance to the Sun (''"Ghost Forest"''), This Ascension (''"Light and Shade"''), Soul Whirling Somewhere (''"Eating the Sea"''), Cocteau Twi ...

, and

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

. The third album ''

Suspiria ''Suspiria'' () is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daria Nicolodi, partially based on Thomas De Quincey's 1845 essay ''Suspiria de Profundis''. The film stars Jessica Harper as ...

'' came out in March 1993. Kelly McCusker left the band in late 1993 to start a career in classical music. She was replaced by Hepzibah Sessa. Their sound became increasingly dark and sophisticated over the years. The fourth album, ''

Fairytales of Slavery ''Fairytales of Slavery'' is the penultimate release by Miranda Sex Garden, issued on Mute Records in June 1994. Produced in part by Alexander Hacke of Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music ...

'', was produced by Alexander Hacke of

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments; perc ...

. In 1995 the group disbanded. Katharine Blake formed a new group with

Dorothy Carter Dorothy Carter (born New York City, 1935, died June 7, 2003 in New Orleans) was an American musician.Billboard - 1998 8 8 " ... in Berlin in 1996. While there, she hooked up with MEDIAEVAL BAEBES Dorothy Carter, an older woman ..." Carter performed ...

in 1996,

Mediæval Bæbes The Mediæval Bæbes are a British musical ensemble founded in 1996 by Dorothy Carter and Katharine Blake. It included some of Blake's colleagues from the band Miranda Sex Garden, as well as other friends who shared her love of medieval music. ...

. Sharpe later drummed for Minty, Plastic Fantastic and

The Servant A servant is a person working within an employer's household. Servant or servants may refer to: Places * Servant, Puy-de-Dôme, France Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Servant'' (1963 film), a British drama * ''The Servant'' (1989 ...

. In 1999 they reformed with some new members and released their final album ''Carnival of Souls'' in April 2000. The band reformed in 2022 and play their first reunion show on July 28th at London's 100 Club.

Members

The group's membership changed significantly over time; only Katharine Blake remained in the group for their entire run. The performers on their last album, ''

Carnival of Souls ''Carnival of Souls'' is a 1962 American independent horror film produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford from a story by Clifford and Harvey, and starring Candace Hilligoss. Its plot follows Mary Henry, a young wo ...

'', were: * Katharine Blake (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, recorders,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s, 1991–2000) * Trevor Sharpe (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s, 1992–2000) * Ben Golomstock (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, 1992–2000) * Teresa Casella (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, 2000) * Mike Servent (

s, 2000) * Barney Hollington (

and

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, 2000) Former members: * Kelly McCusker (vocals,

, 1991–1993) *

(vocals, 1991) *

(vocals,

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, 1992–1994) * Hepzibah Sessa (vocals,

s and

, 1993–1994) * Kim Fahey (

, 1994)
/ref>

Discography

Albums

* ''Madra'' (1991) * ''Iris'' (EP, 1992) * ''

'' (1993) * ''Sunshine'' (EP, 1993) * ''

'' (1994) *'' Carnival of Souls '' (2000)

Singles

* "Gush Forth My Tears" (1991) * "Sunshine" (1993) * "Play" (1993) * "Peepshow" (1994) * "Tonight" (2000)

References

{{Authority control English gothic rock groups Musical groups from London British dark wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Ethereal wave musical groups Mute Records artists Dream pop musical groups