Miranda Sex Garden

Origins (1990–1991)

Formed in 1990, Katharine Blake, Kelly McCusker and Jocelyn West were originally a trio of madrigal singers also skilled in the playing of various instruments.^[2][3] They had been educated at the Purcell School for Young Musicians in Bushey.^[4][5] The band's name came from the novel The Ticket That Exploded by William S. Burroughs.^[6]

To develop performance experience (and raise spare cash) the trio opted to busk on the streets of London. In an interview with Stubble Magazine, Katharine Blake commented, "Sometimes I think it's better there is a lot less bullshit you just get out there and do it. If people like it they throw money at you if they don't they tell you."^[2] Consequently, Miranda Sex Garden were discovered by Barry Adamson while singing three-part harmony Elizabethan madrigals on Portobello Road.^[7] Adamson 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.^[8][9] They recorded their first single "Gush Forth My Tears", in March 1991 - a madrigal with a beat mixed by Danny Rampling.^[10]

Their first album, Madra (August 1991), was produced by classical producer Tony Faulkner. Entirely a cappella, with the songs all based on traditional English verse, it took only two days to record. As part of the promotion, Miranda Sex Garden supported Blur in concert at the Astoria in London in April 1991.

Development (1992–1993)

Wishing to expand their sound, Miranda Sex Garden left their a-capella approach behind, first by incorporating violins (played by the original three group members) and then recruiting guitarist/keyboardist/bass player Ben Golomstock and drummer Trevor Sharpe. In 1992, Jocelyn West left the group to marry and move to the United States.^[2] She was replaced by Donna McKevitt (vocals, violin and viola).^[11]

By the time of their second release, Iris (1992), the group's sound had evolved into a blend of their original madrigal-styled vocal harmonies with new elements reminiscent of folk music, gothic rock, dark wave, ethereal wave and industrial music.^[12][1] Some "startling" live shows were played with artists including Curve, Nick Cave and the Balanescu Quartet.

In January 1993, the "Play" single was released, to be followed in March the same year by their third album, Suspiria. Miranda Sex Garden toured with Levitation and Spiritualized and worked on the soundtrack for Derek Jarman's "Blue" in collaboration with Simon Fisher Turner, Brian Eno and others. Kelly McCusker left the group in late 1993 to start a career in classical music, leaving Blake as the only remaining original member.^[3] McCusker was replaced by Hepzibah Sessa (vocals, keyboards, violin)^[13] for tours with Einstürzende Neubauten and Depeche Mode, whom they opened for on the 1993 leg of their Devotional Tour.^[2] During the tour with Depeche Mode, Sessa and Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder started a relationship; following the tour Sessa departed Miranda Sex Garden to join Wilder to work on his Recoil project.^[14] The two would marry in 1995^[15] and Sessa worked with Wilder on Recoil albums over the next thirteen years.^[a]

Sophistication and first hiatus/reunion (1994–1998)

With Kim Fahy joining on bass guitar in 1994, Miranda Sex Garden continued to pursue a deeper, darker and more sophisticated sound, including a developing interest in sexual fetishism.^[10] Adding to their work at various multi-media events, they hosted the "Lunatic Fringe" nights at Holborn's Leisure Lounge and developed an alter ego band called Waltzing Maggots for gigs at London fetish club Torture Garden.

All of this was reflected in the content of their fourth album, Fairytales of Slavery, produced by Alexander Hacke of Einstürzende Neubauten.^[1] While the group retained their rich instrumentation, the "harder, colder" production pushed Blake more to the foreground, like a conventional pop vocalist, with fewer vocal harmonies backing her. Einstürzende Neubauten's F. M. Einheit also contributed occasional industrial/musique concrete instrumentation from sources such as stones and electric drills.^[2]

A single, "Peepshow", saw the group promoting their release with a live performance in the window of Tower Records in Piccadilly Circus. The "Lunatic Fringe" nights expanded via "genre-bending" nights at the Waikiki Lounge, where they performed alongside Leigh Bowery's transgressive art-pop band Minty, transvestite rocker Sexton Ming and body artist Alex Binnie for the entertainment of "voyeurs, trendsetters and genuine bizzarros".

This period also saw the arrival of two further new members, Teresa Casella replacing Kim Fahy on bass guitar^[16] and Mike Servent replacing Hepsibah Sessa on keyboard.

At the turn of 1994 and 1995, Miranda Sex Garden toured with various bands including Hole.^[17] Then the band parted ways with both Donna McKevitt and Mute Records, and went on hiatus.^[2] In association with Dorothy Carter, Katharine Blake went on to form Mediæval Bæbes (an all-female a capella early music group marketed like a pop girl group) who debuted at number 1 in the classical charts with their Salva Nos album in 1996. Trevor Sharpe drummed for Minty, Plastic Fantastic and the Servant. In 1998, Donna McKevitt recorded and released Translucence (A Song Cycle), a collaborative album with Derek Jarman in which she set his poetry to classically-inspired string music: another former MSG member, Kelly McCusker, was among the musical contributors. Ben Golomstock formed a new band called Naked Goat with Flesh for Lulu's Nick Marsh, violinist Barney Hollington, bass guitarist Jon Golds and dual drummers Arthur Lager and Vince Johnson^[18]

Miranda Sex Garden's hiatus was brief, with Blake, Golomstock, Sharpe, Servent and Casella soon regrouping and being joined by Naked Goat's Barney Hollington on violin and Hammond organ. Now without a record contract or funding, the band played intermittent London gigs while the various members simultaneously pursued their other projects.

Carnival of Souls period (1999-2000) and second hiatus (2001-2021)

In 1999, Miranda Sex Garden were given the opportunity to record and release a new album, Carnival of Souls, thanks to the setting up of the dedicated SugarDaddy Records label.^[2] The album was released in 2000^[19][10] with the small Cleopatra label handling distribution in the US. However, without the promotional budget of a large label, the album received little attention and, in retrospect, the group considered Carnival of Souls to have "never formally (been) released". A double A-side single from the album, "Tonight"/"Sex Garden", was released and saw the group attempting to make inroads into contemporary dance culture, but without commercial success.^[2] The only other released MSG work arising from this period was a cover of the Radiohead song "Exit Music for a Film" made for the tribute album Anyone Can Play Radiohead). With Blake now concentrating much more on Mediæval Bæbes, Miranda Sex Garden became inactive again.^[20]

Ben Golomstock later referred to this period as the "Coma Years" and said that the band had never really split up: "I recorded a few ideas, Katharine sang on some new stuff, we thought we could have a crack at another CD. We started playing around with it as a band - and I got the sack because I fell asleep in the studio. They tried to get someone else in, but I guess it didn't work out. More Coma Years ensued."^[21] In 2006, Golomstock released a solo album, Stories From The Moon.^[21] This drew strongly on the original MSG sound and featured members of the group plus members of Mediaeval Baebes, Queenadreena, Colt and other projects.

In 2007, Katharine Blake released her first solo album, Midnight Flower, while another original MSG member, Jocelyn West, released her own debut solo album, Salt Bird, in March 2009.

Donna McKevitt would release the classical/electronic mini-album Cut in 2015.

Ben Golomstock died in 2018. Spare copies of Stories from the Moon album were released in 2024 via Blake on the Mediæval Bæbes' Bandcamp page.^[22]

Second reunion (2022–present)

In 2022, Miranda Sex Garden reunited. Blake, Sharpe, Casella and Servent from the Carnival of Souls line-up were joined by Blake's Mediæval Bæbes bandmate Bev Lee Harling on violin and by guitarist Kavus Torabi (Gong, Cardiacs, Knifeworld, Guapo/the Holy Family etc), replacing Ben Golomstock. The revived group played a London concert at the 100 Club on 28 July 2022.

In 2023, Emmett Elvin (a long time collaborator of guitarist Kavus Torabi in Guapo and the Holy Family) replaced Mike Servent on keyboards. The group toured the UK tour the same year.

In May 2024 the group toured Europe. Again there has been a change in keyboard player - Justine Armatage (the Cesarians, ex-Christian Death). She has contributed to various MSG related projects like Ben Golomstock's Stories from the Moon and Katharine Blake's From The Deep. MSG released a new single, the first in two decades - "Velventine" on 5 April, which was partially recorded in 2000 with contributions of the new members, following a new video (first in three decades) for the same song. Jimmy Martin replaced Torabi as guitarist in 2025 due to Torabi's commitments with Gong and no longer living in London.^[23]

Albums

• Madra (1991)
• Suspiria (1993)
• Fairytales of Slavery (1994)
• Carnival of Souls (2000)

EPs

• Iris (1992)
• Sunshine (1993)

Singles

• "Gush Forth My Tears" (1991)
• "Sunshine" (1993)
• "Play" (1993)
• "Peepshow" (1994)
• "Tonight/Sex Garden" (2000)
• "Velventine" (2024)