Bruce Clifford Gilbert (born 18 May 1946) is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental

art punk Art punk, or artcore, is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and ...

band

Wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 180-182 he branched out into electronic music, performance art, music production, and DJing during the band's extended periods of inactivity. He left Wire in 2004, and has since been focusing on solo work and collaborations with visual artists and fellow experimental musicians.

Education and early career

Gilbert studied

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

at Leicester Polytechnic until 1971; he then became an abstract painter, taking on part-time jobs to help support himself. In 1975, he was hired as an audio-visual aids technician and slide-photography librarian at Watford College of Art and Design. Borrowing oscillators from the Science department, Gilbert started experimenting with tape loops and delays at the recording studio set up by his predecessor. Together with

Colin Newman Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire (band), Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury ...

and Angela Conway, who were students at Watford at the time, Gilbert formed a short-lived group called Overload. Newman and Gilbert were joined by

Graham Lewis Graham Lewis (born Edward Graham Lewis, 22 February 1953) is an English musician. He is best known as a bassist, songwriter, and vocalist with punk rock/post-punk band Wire, of which he has been a core member since founding in 1976. Biography ...

and Robert Gotobed in the summer of 1976, and started practising and performing as

. Gilbert, who always considered Wire a living sculpture rather than a musical project,Wilson Neate & Jon Savage (22 April 2009)
"Jon Savage And Wilson Neate Discuss Wire And Punk."
''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

''. fondly recalls early punk gigs as events where the audience, far from being mere consumers, became part of a shared dynamic experience: "I viewed it as a bit of a laboratory, not musically but culturally, because the people were experimenting with themselves: with their behaviour, their appearance and their clothes. Everything was up for grabs."The Quietus & Wilson Neate (1 April 2009)
"On Wire And Punk: An Extract From The 33 1/3 Book On Pink Flag."
''

''. Wire released three albums between 1976 and 1979, ''

Pink Flag ''Pink Flag'' is the debut album by the British post-punk band Wire. It was released in November 1977 through Harvest Records. The album was critically acclaimed on release, and has since been highly influential; today it is regarded as a landmar ...

'', ''

Chairs Missing ''Chairs Missing'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Wire. It was released on 8September 1978 through Harvest Records. The album peaked at number 48 in the UK Albums Chart. The single "Outdoor Miner" was a minor hit, peaking ...

'' and ''

154 Year 154 ( CLIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Lateranus (or, less frequently, year 907 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 154 for this ...

'', before temporarily disbanding after a show at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Electric Ballroom The Electric Ballroom is a 1,500-capacity performance venue (primarily for rock and roll, rock bands) and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London, England. History The Electric Ballroom started as an Irish ballr ...

at the start of 1980. At this time, Gilbert formed a series of bands/projects with Wire's bassist, Graham Lewis, including Cupol,

Dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, P'o, and Duet Emmo. Gilbert's collaborations with Lewis were experimental, featuring

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes Musical tone, tone and atmosphere over traditional Musical form, musical structure or rhythm. Often "peaceful" sounding and lacking Musical composition, composition, beat, and/or structured melod ...

and

found sound Found objects are sometimes used in music, often to add unusual percussive elements to a work. Their use in such contexts is as old as music itself, as the original invention of musical instruments almost certainly developed from the sounds of nat ...

s.Mason, Stewart " Bruce Gilbert Biography,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved 2 November 2010 Dome performed at

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

with visual displays that allowed audience interactivity. Gilbert and Lewis performed with tubes made of paper over their heads, thus restricting their vision. Artist Russell Mills frequently collaborated with Dome. In 1980, Gilbert and Lewis produced

The The are an English rock band from London, formed in 1979 by singer-songwriter Matt Johnson, the only constant member, and often the sole member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, seven reaching ...

's debut single "Black & White/Controversial Subject" for

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

, as well as the single "Drop/So" by A.C. Marias for their own Dome label. Between 8 and 31 August 1981, Gilbert, Lewis, and Mills took over London's Waterloo Gallery and produced MZUI, an interactive audio-visual installation where visitors were encouraged to play a number of instruments created by the artists from objects found on the site.Wilson Neate (2011)
"MZUI. Bruce Gilbert. Review"
''

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

''. The ''MZUI'' album, released by Cherry Red in May 1982, contains two untitled pieces based on recordings from the venue, finishing with the looped and distorted voice of

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

, whom Gilbert considers a key influence.Barry Alfonso (2000)
"Contemporary Musicians. Wire."
''

eNotes eNotes is a student and teacher educational website founded in 2004 by Brad Satoris and Alexander Bloomingdale, that provides material to help students complete homework assignments and study for exams. Based in Seattle, Washington, eNotes spec ...

''. Gilbert's experimental piece "Children", released in 1983 by

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

, features his parents talking about significant events from their childhood.

Later career

Between 1984 and 1991, Gilbert was commissioned to create music for a variety of film and modern dance projects, by, among others, Michael Clark, Aletta Collins, and

Ashley Page Ashley Page OBE (born August 1956) is a British former ballet dancer, choreographer and was artistic director of Scottish Ballet for ten years. Ashley Page was born in Rochester, Kent in August 1956. Page trained the Royal Ballet School, and joi ...

, with excerpts appearing on his albums ''This Way'' (1984), ''The Shivering Man'' (1987) (both combined on CD as ''This Way to the Shivering Man''), ''Insiding'' (1991) and ''Music for Fruit'' (1991). Wire re-entered the public arena on 7 June 1985 with a performance at the

Museum of Modern Art, Oxford Modern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was called The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. The gallery presents exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. It has a national and international ...

, and Gilbert contributed sounds, lyrics, and occasional vocals to the various albums, EPs, and singles released by the band between November 1986 and February 1993. In 1989, Gilbert co-produced the A.C. Marias album ''One of Our Girls (Has Gone Missing)'', sharing author credits with Angela Conway for 10 original songs (the album also contains a cover version of

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American blues rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and ...

's "Time Was", first released in 1988 as a single featuring Conway, Gilbert,

Barry Adamson Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958)Biography
. Barryadamson.com. is an English pop and rock music ...

and

Rowland S. Howard Rowland Stuart Howard (24 October 1959 – 30 December 2009) was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the post-punk group The Birthday Party (band), The Birthday Party and his subsequent solo career ...

). Since the 1990s, Gilbert has appeared at London techno clubs under the name DJ Beekeeper, often deejaying inside a garden shed above the dancefloor. He has been quoted saying that being a DJ was just an excuse to "manipulate other people's music"Staff (2011)
"Us: Bruce Gilbert"
Pinkflag.com. – such projects include remixing "National Grid Pt 1 and 2" by the group

Disinformation Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...

for their double CD ''Antiphony'' released on

Ash International Touch (sometimes mistakenly written 'Touch Records' and sometimes written Touch Music, which is technically the publishing side of the company) is a British audio-visual organisation, operating the Touch label. Touch was founded in 1982 by Jon ...

in 1997.Staff (2011)
"Bruce Gilbert Discography at Discogs."
''

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

''. In March 1996, he released ''Ab Ovo'', his first solo album not to result from external dance or film commissions. It was described in ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

'' as "a forceful piece of work which sounds like nothing else around." Wire reconvened in London for a one-off performance of "Drill" to celebrate Gilbert's 50th birthday in May 1996. In January 2000, Gilbert teamed up once more with

, and the duo contributed the sound installation ''Alarm'' to the ''Audible Light'' exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford.Adrian Searle (25 January 2000)
"Electric light orchestra"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Wire entered their third incarnation on 26 February 2000 with a performance at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

.Shannon Zimmerman (15 September 2002
"Wire's Taut Link to the Past; The British Band May Have Left Punk Behind – but Not Its Punch."
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. In 2002, Gilbert wrote and recorded the soundtrack for "London Orbital", a film by

Chris Petit Chris Petit (born 17 June 1949) is an English novelist and filmmaker. During the 1970s he was Film Editor for ''Time Out (company), Time Out'' and wrote in ''Melody Maker''. His first film was the cult British road movie ''Radio On'', while his ...

and

Iain Sinclair Iain Sinclair FRSL (born 11 June 1943) is a writer and filmmaker. Much of his work is rooted in London, recently within the influences of psychogeography. Early life and education Sinclair was born in Cardiff, Wales, on 11 June 1943. From 19 ...

based on Sinclair's psychogeographical exploration of the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...

.Sukhdev Sandhu (9 October 2002)
"Film. On the endless road to Essex."
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

''. As part of the project, Gilbert and Wire performed live at the premiere of the film and Sinclair's book at the

Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

on 25 October 2002.Iain Sinclair (19 October 2002)
"On the road."
''

''. Gilbert left Wire in 2004, after the release of the '' Send'' album, pursuing solo projects and collaborations with visual and sound artists ever since. Gilbert's 2004 album ''Ordier'' is a collection of excerpts from a 1996 live performance.Staff
"Bruce Gilbert Ordier pt. 1 video."
''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''. 2006 saw him contribute to Susan Stenger's ''Soundtrack for an Exhibition'' within the eponymous project curated by Mathieu Coupland that brought together artists from the realms of music, fine art, and film at the Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon.Staff (2006)
"Soundtrack for an Exhibition."
''forma.org.uk''. In 2009, Gilbert released ''Oblivio Agitatum'', which he recorded entirely at home.Kiran Sande (10 May 2011)
"Bruce Gilbert: shivering man."
''

Fact magazine ''Fact'' is a music publication that launched in the UK in 2003. It covers UK, US, and international music and youth culture topics, with particular focus on electronic, pop, rap, and experimental artists. Having started as a bi-monthly pri ...

''. In a review for Brainwashed, music journalist Creaig Dunton concluded that "even with his long silence, Bruce Gilbert is still an expert at shaping mini dramas and landscapes out of the raw clay of electronic music."Creaig Dunton (18 October 2009
"Bruce Gilbert, “Oblivio Agitatum”."
'' Brainwashed''. Revisiting his collaboration with

Pan Sonic Pan Sonic was a Finnish electronic music group founded in Turku in 1993. The group consisted of Mika Vainio, Ilpo Väisänen, and Sami Salo. Salo left in 1996 leaving Pan Sonic a duo. The group was originally named Panasonic until 1998. In Dec ...

as IBM in 2001, Gilbert paired up with

Mika Vainio Mika Tapio Vainio (May 15, 1963 – April 12, 2017) was a Finnish electronic musician. He was best known as a member of Pan Sonic. In addition to his real name, he recorded under the aliases Ø, Kentolevi, Philus, and Tekonivel. He has worked w ...

in May 2011 at the Netaudio London festival for an exclusively commissioned live performance.Sarah Reed (11 May 2011)
"TS12. Make beautiful music together."
''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

''. His 2011 recording, "Monad", was published by Touch as a vinyl-only 7-inch single on 8 August.Staff (8 August 2011)
"TS12. Bruce Gilbert. Monad."
, ''

''.Mat Smith (2011)
"Bruce Gilbert. Monad."
''Documentary Evidence''. In October 2011, Gilbert's short story "Sliding Off the World", first released as a spoken-word piece set to atmospheric noise on the CD ''Touch 25'' in June 2006,Staff (2006)

, ''

''. was published in the anthology ''Murmurations'' by

Nicholas Royle Nicholas Royle (born 20 March 1963 in Manchester) is an English novelist, editor, publisher, literary reviewer and creative writing lecturer. Literary career Author Royle has written seven novels: ''Counterparts'', ''Saxophone Dreams'', ''The Ma ...

(Two Ravens Press, ).Staff (20 September 2011)
"Bruce Gilbert contributes to Murmurations story anthology."
''

''. Gilbert's latest release, Diluvial, was launched at Beaconsfield Art Works in London on 13 September 2013. A collaboration between Gilbert and BAW (sound and visual artists Naomi Siderfin and David Crawforth), Diluvial is a seven-piece reflection on climate change and creation stories.Daniel Sylvester (3 September 2013)
"Bruce Gilbert & BAW – Diluvial"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

''.Editors (27 August 2013)
"Bruce Gilbert releasing Diluvial, a collaboration with BAW artists"
''

''.

Selected discography

with Wire

''See: Wire discography''

with Cupol

*''Like This For Ages'' EP (1980),

Gilbert and Lewis

*''3R4'' mini-LP (1980), 4AD *"Ends with the Sea" (1980), 4AD

with Dome

*''Dome 1'' (1980), Dome Records *''Dome 2'' (1981), Dome Records *''Dome 3'' (1981), Dome Records *''Will You Speak This Word'' (1982), Unition *''Yclept'' (1999), WMO ;Compilations & reissues: * ''DOME 1-4+5'', 5-LP box set (December 2011),

Editions Mego Mego was an experimental electronic music independent record label based in Vienna, Austria. The label has been superseded by a new company, Editions Mego, which was set up both to keep Mego albums in print and to issue new albums, run by Peter ...

Greg Barbrick (28 December 2011)
"Music Review: Dome – Dome 1-4+5 Box Set"
''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...

''.

with A.C. Marias

*"Drop/So", single (1980), Dome Records *"Just Talk/No Talk", 12" single (1986), Mute *"Time Was/Some Thing", 12" single (1989), Mute *''One of Our Girls (Has Gone Missing)'', album (1989), Mute *"One of Our Girls/Vicious", 12" single (1990), Mute

Gilbert, Lewis and Mills

*''Mzui (Waterloo Gallery)'' (1982), Cherry Red *''Pacific/Specific'' (1995), WMO

with Duet Emmo

*"Or So It Seems", single (1982), Mute *''Or So It Seems'', album (1983), Mute

with P'o

*''Whilst Climbing Thieves Vie for Attention'', album (1983), Court

Gilbert/Hampson/Kendall

''Orr'', album (1996), Mute (Parallel Series)

with Iain Sinclair

''Downriver'', CD (1998), King MobStaff
"Iain Sinclair – Downriver"
''

''.

Bruce Gilbert – Ron West

"frequency variation", 12" single (1998),

Sähkö Recordings Sähkö Recordings is a Finnish independent record label, based in Turku, Finland. Sähkö ("electricity" in Finnish) was founded by Tommi Grönlund in 1993. The label gained international acclaim by its minimalist electronic releases. Sähkö Reco ...

with rude mechanic

''rude mechanic'', 2 x CD, (recorded 1996, released 1999), PianoStaff
"rude mechanic – pan sonic/hayley newman/david crawforth"
Beaconsfield/Piano.Staff
"rude mechanic – rude mechanic"
''

''.

gilbertpossstenger

''manchesterlondon'', album (2000), WMO

with IBM

''The Oval Recording'', album + 7" single (2001), Mego

with Souls on Board

''Souls on Board'', cassette (2009), The TapewormThe Worm
"TTW#07 – Souls on Board"
The Tapeworm.

with Meltaot

''Souls on Board'', vinyl LP (2010),

Staff
"Meltaot • Souls On Board"
''

''.

with BAW (Naomi Siderfin and David Crawforth)

''Diluvial'', CD (2013)

Touch Music Touch (sometimes mistakenly written 'Touch Records' and sometimes written Touch Music, which is technically the publishing side of the company) is a British audio-visual organisation, operating the Touch label. Touch was founded in 1982 by Jon ...

Solo

Albums

* ''To Speak'' (1983), Dome * ''This Way'' (1984), Mute * ''The Shivering Man'' (1987), Mute * ''Insiding'' (1991), Mute * ''Music for Fruit'' (1991), Mute * ''Ab Ovo'' (1996), Mute * ''In Esse'' (1997), Mute * ''The Haring'' (1997), WMO * ''Ordier'' (2004), Table of the Elements * ''Oblivio Agitatum'' (2009),

* ''Ex Nihilo'' (2018),

;Compilations & reissues: * ''This Way to the Shivering Man'' (1987), Mute * ''Mesmer Variations'', 2 x CD (1995),

Staff
"Ash 1.8CD2 – Mesmer Variations"
,

. *''RRR 500'', LP (1998),

RRRecords RRRecords is a record label and used- and new-record shop based in Lowell, Massachusetts. RRRecords was the first American record label to publish underground "noise music" in the early 1980s as well as publishing the first American vinyl by Mer ...

Staff
"Various – RRR 500"
''

''. *''Antitrade'', CD (1999), Ash InternationalStaff
"Ash 4.1 – Antitrade"
, Ash International. *''Audible Light'', CD (2000), Education and Exhibition Dept. at The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford.Staff
"Audible Light"
''

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

''. * ''This Way (25th Anniversary Reissue)'' (2009), Editions Mego * ''The Shivering Man (Enhanced)'' (2011), Editions Mego

Singles

* "Instant Shed Vol. 1" (1995), Sub Pop * "Instant Shed Vol. 2" (1996), Ash International * "Monad" (2011), Touch

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Bruce 1946 births English experimental musicians British multimedia artists English electronic musicians English DJs English record producers English rock guitarists Living people Mute Records artists Musicians from Watford Wire (band) members Musicians from Hertfordshire British electronic dance music DJs