Biography
As a founding participant in both the industrial innovators Throbbing Gristle and the experimental electronic group Coil, Peter Christopherson built a lifetime of shared creative work. After his Coil partner John Balance died in 2004, he launched the solo endeavor Threshold HouseBoys Choir in 2005 and released its first album, Form Grows Rampant, two years later.
Christopherson had occupied a central position in experimental, avant-garde, and electronic music ever since Throbbing Gristle began in 1975. When that band ended in 1981, he joined Genesis P-Orrige in Psychic TV and, the following year, established the duo Coil alongside John Balance. Through Coil he advanced the reach of drone, minimalism, and dark ambient on releases including Horse Rotorvator in 1986, Love's Secret Domain in 1991, and Musick to Play in the Dark in 1999, shaping the direction of many later artists. After Balance’s death Christopherson moved to Thailand and began working alone as the Threshold HouseBoys Choir. Although Coil had relied on hardware synthesizers, he now worked entirely on computer, shaping vocal fragments and melodies drawn from Thai sources into a mesmerizing blend of exploratory electronics. A limited series of performances preceded the 2007 appearance of Form Grows Rampant, which was packaged with a DVD containing festival footage shot in Krung Thep. He continued performing under the Threshold HouseBoys Choir name, presenting a live realization of Derek Jarman’s The Angelic Conversation (originally scored by Coil) in 2008 and additional shows in London in 2009, before his death at his Thai residence in 2010. In 2022 Music pour la Danse returned Form Grows Rampant to circulation after fifteen years, remastering the original files for the new edition.
Christopherson had occupied a central position in experimental, avant-garde, and electronic music ever since Throbbing Gristle began in 1975. When that band ended in 1981, he joined Genesis P-Orrige in Psychic TV and, the following year, established the duo Coil alongside John Balance. Through Coil he advanced the reach of drone, minimalism, and dark ambient on releases including Horse Rotorvator in 1986, Love's Secret Domain in 1991, and Musick to Play in the Dark in 1999, shaping the direction of many later artists. After Balance’s death Christopherson moved to Thailand and began working alone as the Threshold HouseBoys Choir. Although Coil had relied on hardware synthesizers, he now worked entirely on computer, shaping vocal fragments and melodies drawn from Thai sources into a mesmerizing blend of exploratory electronics. A limited series of performances preceded the 2007 appearance of Form Grows Rampant, which was packaged with a DVD containing festival footage shot in Krung Thep. He continued performing under the Threshold HouseBoys Choir name, presenting a live realization of Derek Jarman’s The Angelic Conversation (originally scored by Coil) in 2008 and additional shows in London in 2009, before his death at his Thai residence in 2010. In 2022 Music pour la Danse returned Form Grows Rampant to circulation after fifteen years, remastering the original files for the new edition.
Albums
Singles