A motor drive, comprising: a current source rectifier including a plurality of rectifier switching devices (S1-S6) individually operable according to a corresponding one of a plurality of rectifier switching control signals to provide controlled DC current (I dc); an intermediate DC circuit comprising at least one inductance (L dc1, L dc2) and first and second DC current paths coupled with corresponding first and second DC output nodes of the current source rectifier; a current source inverter including a plurality of inverter switching devices (S7-S12) individually operable according to a corresponding one of a plurality of inverter switching control signals to selectively couple a corresponding one of the first and second DC current paths of the intermediate DC circuit with a corresponding AC output node to provide controlled AC output current ( i s.u, i s.v, i s.w) for driving a motor load; and a controller programmed to implement at least one motor control loop to control at least one operating parameter ( ω r, T, Ψ) of the motor load by providing the inverter switching control signals to cause the current source inverter to selectively convert DC current from the intermediate DC circuit to regulate the AC output current ( i s.u, i s.v, i s.w) provided to the motor load in a closed-loop fashion according to at least one motor command signal or value ( ω * r, T*, Ψ*), the controller being programmed to implement a DC current control loop parallel to the at least one motor control loop by providing the rectifier switching control signals to cause the current source rectifier to selectively convert AC input power to regulate the DC current (I dc) provided to the intermediate DC circuit by the current source rectifier in a closed-loop fashion according to at least one DC current command signal or value (I* dc.ref) derived at least partially independent of the at least one motor command signal or value ( ω * r, T*, ψ*), characterised in that the controller is programmed to implement the DC current control loop by providing the rectifier switching control signals upon powerup of the motor drive according to the DC current command signal or value (I* dc.ref), with the DC current command signal or value (I* dc.ref) set to a maximum rated DC current (I dc.max) of the current source rectifier for a predetermined time upon and after power up of the motor drive, and thereafter with the DC current command signal or value (I* dc.ref) computed as a product of a magnitude of at least one inverter current command signal or value ( i* inv.d, i * inv.q) from the at least one motor control loop and a gain value ( GAIN dc), wherein the gain value ( GAIN dc) is greater than 1.0. a current source rectifier including a plurality of rectifier switching devices (S1-S6) individually operable according to a corresponding one of a plurality of rectifier switching control signals to provide controlled DC current (I dc); an intermediate DC circuit comprising at least one inductance (L dc1, L dc2) and first and second DC current paths coupled with corresponding first and second DC output nodes of the current source rectifier; a current source inverter including a plurality of inverter switching devices (S7-S12) individually operable according to a corresponding one of a plurality of inverter switching control signals to selectively couple a corresponding one of the first and second DC current paths of the intermediate DC circuit with a corresponding AC output node to provide controlled AC output current ( i s.u, i s.v, i s.w) for driving a motor load; and a controller programmed to implement at least one motor control loop to control at least one operating parameter ( ω r, T, Ψ) of the motor load by providing the inverter switching control signals to cause the current source inverter to selectively convert DC current from the intermediate DC circuit to regulate the AC output current ( i s.u, i s.v, i s.w) provided to the motor load in a closed-loop fashion according to at least one motor command signal or value ( ω * r, T*, Ψ*), the controller being programmed to implement a DC current control loop parallel to the at least one motor control loop by providing the rectifier switching control signals to cause the current source rectifier to selectively convert AC input power to regulate the DC current (I dc) provided to the intermediate DC circuit by the current source rectifier in a closed-loop fashion according to at least one DC current command signal or value (I* dc.ref) derived at least partially independent of the at least one motor command signal or value ( ω * r, T*, ψ*), characterised in that the controller is programmed to implement the DC current control loop by providing the rectifier switching control signals upon powerup of the motor drive according to the DC current command signal or value (I* dc.ref), with the DC current command signal or value (I* dc.ref) set to a maximum rated DC current (I dc.max) of the current source rectifier for a predetermined time upon and after power up of the motor drive, and thereafter with the DC current command signal or value (I* dc.ref) computed as a product of a magnitude of at least one inverter current command signal or value ( i* inv.d, i * inv.q) from the at least one motor control loop and a gain value ( GAIN dc), wherein the gain value ( GAIN dc) is greater than 1.0.