Zu93
Mirror Emperor

David Tibet, unlike his old friend Douglas Pearce, has managed to maintain an inexhaustible creative fire and has had the ability over time to always surround himself with new and talented musicians. Now a collaboration is coming out with the Italians Zu, pioneers of jazz-core and experimentation. I confess to not knowing Zu well enough, unlike Current 93, which I've tried to follow despite the challenging and often unfocused production. However, listening to this album by Zu93 titled Mirror Emperor, one gets the impression, at least at times, of listening to the best of Current 93. We are presented with dark settings that create a sort of chamber apocalyptic folk thanks to the contribution of the Zu musicians. The gloomy sounds of strings and synths push the sound towards avant-garde atmospheres but, at certain moments, like the inspired "To The Mirror Emperor" and the twilight "The Teeth Of The Mirror Emperor," the sound shifts towards classic neo-folk of times past. It has been a while since Tibet seemed so inspired, and certainly, the credit also goes to Zu, who have managed to immerse themselves in his universe of darkness and imminent Apocalypses. Mirror Emperor is an album that leaves no one indifferent and made me recall Imperium, at least for its intensity and obsessive atmospheres. Now we just have to wait and see when Tibet will feel like releasing another Current record.