Cosey Fanni Tutti - 2t2 (2025) Hi-Res

There’s been a lot of musicians autobiographies over the years, and one of the best of the last ten was Cosey Fanni Tutti‘s Art Sex Music, published in 2017. Queueing patiently to have her sign it for me at the Edinburgh International Book Festival that year, it took a herculean effort on the part of this writer not to gush at her just how wonderful I thought she was. Not that she needed telling, and she was kind enough to pose for a photo.

Of course, to write an autobiography like that you have to have lived an amazing life and trailblazed like a bomb. She was a co-founder of the pioneering Throbbing Gristle (who would influence Soft Cell, Nine Inch Nails and Ministry), and as part of the COUM Transmissions collective. The latter’s Prostitution exhibition at the ICA in London lead to her and others being described as ‘wreckers of civilisation‘ by the Tory MP Sir Nicholas Fairbairn in 1976.

Let’s face it, it’s not generally reactionary types who encourage great breakthroughs culturally really, is it?

Heritage wise, it’s the likes of Delia Derbyshire and Nico that it’s easier to see her following in the path of, before definitely setting her out on her own. Understandably she’s felt frustrated that her importance in Throbbing Gristle was underrated, quite possibly to do with people no longer with us.

The album opens with ‘Curæ‘ a wonderfully dark slice of electronica that sets the scene for what follows. To those who haven’t heard her music before, it’s actually a great way of starting to explore her music (though if you really want to terrify yourself, in the best possible way, check out Throbbing Gristle tracks like ‘Zyklon B Zombie‘ or ‘Hamburger Lady.’). The album finds her making sense of some very tough years for her, dealing with personal bereavements alongside world events that have impacted us all. Centring on her own strength and self will, the album’s has two distinct sides – one rhythmic, one more meditative, and both are connected by an overwhelmingly positive mood, even if it has its dark moments.

One of the central tracks is ‘Stound.’ Cosey’s overtone chanting on the track she describes as ‘tapping into the inner self, to the core of your being, emotionally, physically, allowing the sounds to permeate and soothe as well as create a sense of power, resistance and resilience to what we face‘. Within we are encouraged to challenge what we understand as noise and sound, but also these are songs, rather than just simply pieces. I like to think of the track name ‘Respair‘ meaning both despair and repair, with it’s chugging electronica and the wonderful counterpoint provided by a harmonica, cutting through like a glorious sunrise. Like Derbyshire before her, she shows how electronic music can be so very warm and so very human. If you’re not sure about this, then take the time to listen.

All in all, a brilliant album that explains (if you really needed it explaining) why she is so highly regarded all these decades later. Forty well-spent minutes, though you should probably be playing this repeatedly. I’m not sure she’d be up for accepting honours, but she is exactly the sort of person that should be. The kind of artist who brings about another kind of civilisation entirely, while reactionary types can only gasp, flailing pathetically in the rear view mirror…