Steven Peter Stapleton (born 3 February 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the only constant member of experimental improv outfit Nurse with Wound. He is often seen as one of the pioneers of the British

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 ...

scene, alongside bands such as Throbbing Gristle,

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 Cabaret Voltaire, although in his music he has explored a wide range of styles, including free-form improvisation,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

, and even

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

dance rhythms. Nurse with Wound, originally a three-piece ensemble, is Stapleton's main outlet for his musical work, occasionally in collaboration with other musicians such as

Foetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...

William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of ...

(of

Whitehouse Whitehouse may refer to: People * Charles S. Whitehouse (1921-2001), American diplomat * Cornelius Whitehouse (1796–1883), English engineer and inventor * E. Sheldon Whitehouse (1883-1965), American diplomat * Elliott Whitehouse (born 1993), ...

). He has also appeared on records by other artists and worked as a producer. He runs the United Dairies record label, which apart from the NWW output released records by

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 ...

, the Lemon Kittens and

Volcano the Bear Volcano the Bear are an improvisational/experimental English band formed in Leicester in 1995. The group's members are Aaron Moore (drums, trumpet, vocals), Nick Mott (saxophone, guitar, vocals), Clarence Manuelo ( tapes, electronics) and Dani ...

, as well as

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...

and several experimental artists. Stapleton is also a graphic artist and painter, and has designed album sleeves and book covers. Under the name "Babs Santini", Stapleton has created the artwork for most of the Nurse with Wound recordings, as well as for other artists, such as Coil, the

Legendary Pink Dots The Legendary Pink Dots (LPD) are an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in August 1980. In 1984, the band moved to Amsterdam, playing with rotating musicians and having, as core members, singer/songwriter/keyboardist Edward Ka- ...

and Current 93. Stapleton lives with his long term partner and wife Sarah Redpath, the family lives in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, on a piece of land with houses and caravans hand-built and decorated by Stapleton. Stapleton is a fan of the

Third Ear Band Third Ear Band were a British musical group formed in London during the mid-1960s. Their line-up initially consisted of violin, cello, oboe and percussion. Most of their performances were instrumental and partly improvised. Their records for th ...

Discography

(Solo recordings only. Follow link for Nurse with Wound recordings.) *1991 ''The Sadness of Things'' (with

David Tibet David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He was given the name "Tibet" by Genesis P-Orridge, and in January 2005 he ...

) *1992 ''Revenge of the Selfish Shellfish'' (with

Tony Wakeford Anthony Charles "Tony" Wakeford (born 2 May 1959) is an English neofolk and neoclassical musician, who primarily records under the name Sol Invictus. Wakeford lives in London and is married to Sol Invictus violinist Renée Rosen. Musical wo ...

) *1993 ''The Apocalyptic Folk in the Nodding God Unveiled'' (with The Nodding Folk) *1996 ''Musical Pumpkin Cottage'' (with David Tibet) *1998 ''Octopus'' (with David Tibet, a collection of older recordings)

References

External links

"Brainwashed on Steven Stapleton"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stapleton, Steven English electronic musicians 1957 births Living people Avant-garde composers Experimental composers English experimental musicians English industrial musicians People from Finchley Male classical composers Musicians from London 20th-century English musicians 20th-century British male musicians Current 93 members British noise musicians English expatriates in Ireland