In The Nursery

In 1981 brothers Klive Humberstone and Nigel Humberstone formed In the Nursery in Sheffield, England, merging industrialized military rhythms with classical music and film-score aesthetics. Early recordings leaned heavily toward the industrial side, beginning with the 1983 mini-album When Cherished Dreams Come True and several compilation appearances over the following two years. After the Temper EP surfaced in 1985 the remaining members departed, leaving only the Humberstone brothers to complete their first full-length album, 1986’s Twins, which expanded the classical elements. Percussionist Q and French bilingual vocalist Dolores Marguerite C joined for 1987’s Stormhorse, an album shaped as the soundtrack to an imaginary film. The same approach guided 1988’s Koda, while Wax Trax! assembled the band’s early recordings on the 1989 compilation Counterpoint. With 1990’s L’Esprit the group moved toward a more graceful and refined style in which C’s vocals assumed a central role for the first time. Sense (1991) and Duality (1992) intensified the film-score orientation, which reached its logical conclusion with the official soundtrack An Ambush of Ghosts in 1993. The 1994 concept album Anatomy of a Poet appeared next, alongside side projects issued under the Les Jumeaux name. In 1995 the band’s own ITN Corporation label released the broad retrospective Scatter; at the same time “White Robe” was licensed by Warner Bros. for Interview with the Vampire, and the single “Hallucinations?” appeared in several films. Between 1996 and 1997 the group supplied music for the television series La Femme Nikita and created a new score for the silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, while additional Les Jumeaux releases continued. The year 2000 brought Hindle Wakes, a soundtrack for the film drawn from Stanley Houghton’s play.