Bruce Gilbert
| Bruce Gilbert | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Bruce Clifford Gilbert |
| Born |
18 May 1946 Watford, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Labels |
Mute Records Editions Mego Touch Music |
| Associated acts |
Wire Dome |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Korg Monotron Korg Kaoss Pad 2 Gibson Les Paul Pro |
|
Bruce Clifford Gilbert (born 18 May 1946) is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental art-punk band Wire, Gilbert branched out into electronic music, performance art, music production, and DJing during the band's extended periods of inactivity. Gilbert left Wire in 2004 and has since been focusing on solo work and collaborations with visual artists and fellow experimental musicians.
Gilbert studied graphic design at De Montfort University until 1971 when he 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 and Angela Conway, who were students at Watford at the time, Gilbert formed a short-lived group called Overload. In the summer of 1976, Newman and Gilbert were joined by Graham Lewis and Robert Gotobed and started practising and performing as Wire.
Gilbert, who always considered Wire a living sculpture rather than a musical project, 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."
Wire released three albums between 1976–79 with Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154 before temporarily disbanding after a show at London's Electric Ballroom at the start of 1980. At this time, Gilbert formed a series of bands/projects with Wire's bassist, Graham Lewis, including Cupol, Dome, P'o, and Duet Emmo. Gilbert's collaborations with Lewis were experimental, featuring ambient music and found sounds. Dome performed at art galleries 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's debut single "Black & White/Controversial Subject" for 4AD 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. 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, whom Gilbert considers a key influence. Gilbert's experimental piece "Children", released in 1983 by Touch, features his parents talking about significant events from their childhood.
...
Wikipedia