Chris Carter (born 28 January 1953) is an English musician, best known for being a member of

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter (British musician), Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pi ...

and the duo

Chris & Cosey Chris & Cosey, sometimes known as Carter Tutti, are a musical duo formed in 1981, consisting of couple Chris Carter (electronics) and Cosey Fanni Tutti (electronics, guitar, cornet), both previously (and currently the sole surviving) members o ...

, both with his longtime partner

Cosey Fanni Tutti Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Carol Newby; 4 November 1951) is an English performance artist, musician and writer, best known for her time in the avant-garde groups Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey. Tutti first performed under the name ...

Background

Carter was born 28 January 1953 in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

and educated at

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 was later renamed The North London Int ...

. He began his career in the late 1960s working for various UK TV stations (

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

) as a sound engineer on numerous TV shows and documentaries. This gave him an invaluable grounding in 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 for bands as diverse as Yes and

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

. This led to commissions for the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

shows ''

Colour Me Pop ''Colour Me Pop'' was a British music TV programme broadcast on BBC2 from 1968–1969. It was a spin-off from the BBC 2 arts magazine show '' Late Night Line-Up''. Designed to celebrate the new introduction of colour to British television, i ...

'' and ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

''. By the early 1970s Carter was touring universities and colleges with a solo multimedia show, playing self-built synthesizers and keyboards and incorporating myriad lighting effects learned 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, through his connection with Lacey, Carter began an experimental music/sound collaboration with

and

Genesis P-Orridge Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was a singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions arti ...

, who were also working at the time as

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

group

COUM Transmissions COUM Transmissions was a music and performance art collective who operated in the United Kingdom from 1969 through to 1976. The collective was influenced by the Dada and surrealism artistic movements, the writers of the Beat Generation, and underg ...

along with

Peter Christopherson Peter Martin Christopherson (also known as Sleazy, 27 February 1955 – 25 November 2010) was an English musician, video director, commercial artist, designer and photographer, and former member of British design agency Hipgnosis. He also found ...

. The results of this musical collaboration were the creation of the group

, of the music label

Industrial Records Industrial Records is a record label established in 1976 by industrial music and visual arts group Throbbing Gristle. The group created the label primarily for self-releases but also signed several other groups and artists. The label gave a nam ...

, and the birth of the 'Industrial Music' genre. In 1976 Carter also worked at the London bureau of the

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

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 Carter recorded his first solo album for Industrial Records called ''The Space Between'', which is now available on

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 ...

. Shortly after the demise of Throbbing Gristle in 1981, and with help and backing from

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

, Carter and

formed their Conspiracy International (CTI) record label, and began working together as

and CTI. Initially they released only music, but soon moved into producing video works, and with the help of Doublevision released a number of CTI experimental video films and soundtracks. In 1985 Carter 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 Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

and Dave Stewart,

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

, Coil,

Boyd Rice Boyd Blake Rice (born December 16, 1956) 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 ...

Lustmord Brian Williams is a Welsh industrial musician, sound designer and film score composer. He is often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord. His experimental work has been described as "not tra ...

Monte Cazazza Monte Cazazza is an American artist and composer best known for his seminal role in helping shape industrial music through recordings with the London-based Industrial Records in the mid-1970s. Career Cazazza, based primarily in San Francisco du ...

and many more.

and Carter Tutti have also remixed tracks for Mortal Loom and

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

, Pantaleimon, Throbbing Gristle,

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only const ...

and Chris Ewan (FBH). In 1994 Carter also moved into journalism, and regularly has technical articles and reviews published in the magazine ''

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, a ...

''. He is additionally a keen photographer and graphic designer, and in collaboration with Cosey Fanni Tutti has designed and produced numerous album covers, posters and art works. Carter 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 Carter released a compilation CD entitled ''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 with electronic musician

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 wi ...

, was released on the DiN label. In 2000 Carter, 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 original Throbbing Gristle industrial rhythm tracks. In 2003 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 The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's o ...

in 2005. Carter and the other original members of Throbbing Gristle regrouped the band in 2003 and released the

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 Gristle's 24 shows in addition to two C90 cassettes ta ...

CD boxed set, with an accompanying art exhibition in London. TG performances followed in London,

Camber Sands Camber Sands is a beach in East Sussex, UK, in the village of Camber, near Rye. It is the only sand dune system in East Sussex, and is east of the estuary of the River Rother at Rye Bay stretching to just beyond the Kent border, where shing ...

, Turin, Berlin, Barcelona and Paris. During 2007 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 Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

turbine hall and their three-day 'public recording session' at the ICA in London. Carter worked on a Carter Tutti album entitled ''Feral Vapours of the Silver Ether'', which is released in 2007 on the Conspiracy International label. Carter continues to work and collaborate with both Cosey Fanni Tutti and Throbbing Gristle. He is also working on a solo experimental audio project titled CCCL, and produced a new Carter Tutti film, released on DVD in 2008.

Inventions

Carter has invented a sound generator called The Dirty Carter Experimental Sound Generating Instrument—a

circuit bending Circuit bending is the creative, chance-based customization of the circuits within electronic devices such as low-voltage, battery-powered guitar effects, children's toys and digital synthesizers to create new musical or visual instruments and ...

device with a tilt sensor. Carter also co-invented The Gristleizer, a sound

effects unit An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...

based on the design of a guitar effects pedal from Roy Gwinn. The Gristleizer effects unit is regarded as a major contributor to the Throbbing Gristle sound.

Discography

(NOT including Throbbing Gristle, Carter Tutti or Chris & Cosey releases) * ''The Space Between'' cassette (1980, Industrial Records; 1983, Third Mind); CD (1991, Mute; Alfa; 1999, Elektra); LP (2010, Optimo Music) * ''Nicki'' 7" (1983, AQM) ith John Duncan and Cosey Fanni Tutti* ''Mondo Beat'' vinyl/cassette (1985, CTI/Rough Trade); CD/vinyl/cassette (1989, Play It Again Sam) * ''Collectiv 1'' compilation (1996, CTI) * ''Disobedient'' live (1998, CTI) * ''Small Moon'' (1999, CTI) * ''Caged'' (2000, DiN) with

* ''Electronic Ambient Remixes 1'' (2000, CTI) * ''Electronic Ambient Remixes 3'' (2002, CTI) * ''Moonlight'' 12" (2011, Optimo Music) * ''Transverse'' (2012, Mute) ith Nik Colk Void as Carter Tutti Void* '' Chemistry Lessons: Volume One'' (2018, Mute)

References

Cassette culture 1970s–1990s

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Chris English industrial musicians English experimental musicians English electronic musicians Living people 1953 births People educated at Friern Barnet Grammar School Third Mind Records artists Throbbing Gristle members Industrial Records artists

Background

Inventions

Discography

See also

References

External links