David Tibet | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | David Michael Bunting |
Born | Batu Gajah, Malaysia | 5 March 1960
Origin | England |
Genres | Apocalyptic folk, neofolk |
Labels | Durtro, Jnana, Coptic Cat |
Website | Davidtibet.com |
David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) [1] is an English poet, artist and musician. He is best known for the musical group Current 93, which he founded and is the only consistent member of.
David Bunting was born to British parents in Batu Gajah, Perak, Malaysia. [1] His father had fought in World War II and was among the soldiers who liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. [2] He lived in Malaysia until 1970, when he was sent to England to attend the (at the time all-boys) Red House School, an experience he has spoken poorly of. [3] [4] He attended Newcastle University. [5]
He was given the name "Tibet" by Genesis P-Orridge while working with Psychic TV in the early '80s. In January 2005 he announced that he would revert to the name David Michael, although he continues to use the well-known "Tibet" in his public career to date.
Around 2000, he suffered a near-fatal case of appendicitis. [6]
In 2009, he completed a MA degree in Coptic Language and Grammar through Macquarie University. [7] [8]
David was married to the musician and artist Andria Degens, known as "Pantaleimon", who contributed to Current 93 albums between 1996 and 2009. [9] They divorced around 2010. [3] He lives in Hastings with his partner Ania Goszczyńska, an illustrator. [10]
The Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections at the Cornell University Library holds his archives through 2013. [11]
Tibet was first exposed to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism in Malaysia. He also showed an interest in esoteric Christianity from an early age, and still identifies as a Christian. [12]
Tibet's mysticism is derived from such varied fields as religion, philosophy, witchcraft, poetry and painting. As his stage name suggests, he has Vajrayana Buddhist leanings, and regards the legendary tantric figure Padmasambhava as his own tutor. His album Buddhist Monks of the Maitri Vihar Monastery (1997) reflects his interest in Tibetan Buddhism. He also has longstanding interests in Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity, especially Christian eschatology, and his lyrical subject matter reflects a consistent preoccupation with such apocalyptic imagery as death, loss, and destruction. Other influences include Gnosticism, Austin Osman Spare, and a variety of occult topics.
His interest in Aleister Crowley and Thelema began at age 11 when he purchased The Diary of a Drug Fiend at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Kuala Lumpur. [3] Thelemic concepts appear aspects of the covers, lyrics and themes of Current 93 (including the group's name itself). The initial recording of Current 93, LAShTAL, was, according to Tibet, "the invocation of Malkunofath on the Nightside of Eden, the reverse of the Tree of Life". Despite his continuing appreciation for Crowley as an individual, Tibet has since distanced himself from Crowleyanity. In April 2006, Ordo Templi Orientis formed the International OTO Cabinet, an advisory, non-voting panel made up of both OTO Initiates and Non-Initiates. Tibet was named among the initial non-member appointments. [13]
Although collaborators such as Douglas P. and Boyd Rice have alleged neo-Nazi connections, Tibet himself has referred to Hitler as the antichrist and dedicated the Current 93 song "Hitler as Kalki" to "my father who fought Hitler". [2] [14]
After leaving university, he worked with Psychic TV and 23 Skidoo. He is credited on the Psychic TV albums Force the Hand of Chance and Dreams Less Sweet . Tibet left Psychic TV in 1983 and founded Current 93, of which he is the only constant member. Current 93's initial recordings consisted largely of harsh, repetitive industrial noise and dark ambient soundscapes. Under the influence of Death in June, Tibet began incorporating neo-folk elements that would come to dominate Current 93's music.
Tibet has had a reciprocal relationship with other musicians and groups. Steven Stapleton of Nurse With Wound appeared on nearly every Current 93 release until 2010, while Tibet has appeared on many Nurse With Wound releases and collaborations with Stapleton. Death in June members Douglas P. and Tony Wakeford appeared on Current 93 releases from 1987 until 1993, while Tibet was a member of Death in June from the mid-'80s to 1995. Many other mutual collaborators, such as Jhonn Balance of Coil, were also part of the community surrounding Psychic TV.
Tibet is an established visual artist with much of his work in well-known galleries such as the Henry Boxer Gallery and Isis Gallery. [15] His exhibitions include:
Tibet has created a series of record labels and small publishing houses under the names Maldoror (referring to Les Chants de Maldoror ), Durtro (from the Tibetan word for charnel ground), Jnana Records, Coptic Cat, The Spheres, Ghost Story Press, and Cashen's Gap (named for the home of Gef). These businesses publish and release his own work, as well as the work of artists he has collaborated with or has an interest in. The first album by Antony And The Johnsons was released by Durtro. Together with Mark Logan, he curated the 2006 five-CD compilation Not Alone to raise funds for Médecins Sans Frontières.
Tibet's 'The Moons At Your Door,' an anthology of 'strange tales that influenced' Tibet illustrated by his own artwork, was released in Paperback Edition in March 2016. [19] He also was the editor of a follow-up anthology of supernatural short stories, titled "There is a Graveyard that Dwells in Man" published in 2020. [20]
Most writers below are authors of supernatural and horror fiction.
Count Eric StanislausStenbock was a Baltic Swedish poet and writer of macabre fantastic fiction.
Current 93 are an English experimental music group, founded in 1982 by David Tibet. Much of Current 93's early work was similar to late 1970s and early 1980s industrial music: abrasive tape loops, droning synthesizer noises and Tibet's distorted, excoriating vocals. In the mid-'80s, Current 93's sound shifted to a style Tibet has called "apocalyptic folk", combining folk music with industrial elements. Tibet has been the only constant member of Current 93, with a wide variety of collaborators joining in over the years. They have released over twenty full-length albums, as well as many other recordings.
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Thunder Perfect Mind is an album by the English experimental group Current 93, released on 28 July 1992. It contains two tracks based on the Gnostic poem The Thunder, Perfect Mind, which also gave the album its name. Thunder Perfect Mind has a companion album by the same name recorded by Nurse With Wound, released at the same time, though the two albums have little in common with each other musically.
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Swastikas for Noddy is a 1988 album by English music group Current 93. It charted on New Musical Express's Independent LPs chart in March 1988. It was originally issued simultaneously on CD and LP by Crepuscule Records' industrial subsidiary L.A.Y.L.A.H. Records and later reissued as a remastered CD by Durtro Records in 1994 under the slightly revised title "Swastikas For Goddy", the renaming being due to copyright infringement issues involving Enid Blyton's character Noddy. “I was obsessed with Noddy,” David Tibet recalled in a 2011 interview, in reference to the album. “I took a load of acid on the top of the house where Rose McDowall was living and I had a vision of Noddy crucified in the sky and it really impressed me… as you would expect. The next day I just went mad for buying Noddy. Before I’d seen him crucified I wasn’t any more interested in him than any other kid who’s read Noddy as a child. I was taking such a huge amount of speed at the time that I had a massive amount of energy so I just started hoovering around and would come back with bin-liners full of anything with Noddy on. Rugs, mugs, jugs, didn’t matter, bought it all, to the extent that I started wandering around London wearing a red Noddy hat with a bell on the end. Which was possibly not a good move to make in terms of fashion…”
Dawn is an album by the English group Current 93. It is among the earlier releases of Current 93 and has a more industrial sound, compared to the band's current apocalyptic folk sound. Originally released in 1987 as an LP on the Maldoror label, it was reissued in 1989 on CD by Durtro. This reissue mistakenly contained an alternate version of "Great Black Time". In 2002, the album was again reissued on CD, containing both the alternate and the original LP version of "Great Black Time". In 2009, the album was yet again reissued on CD, restoring only the original vinyl edition and excluding the bonus tracks from earlier editions. The limited bonus disc contained an Andrew Liles remix.
"I Have a Special Plan for This World" is a longform single by the English band Current 93. The lyrics are taken from a poem of the same name by the author Thomas Ligotti and spoken by David Tibet. Additional sound treatments are credited to Current 93. The single was released on limited edition vinyl and CD in 2000 on David Tibet's Durtro label. There was an additional special release in February 2007, when three test pressings were made in black vinyl. These featured signed and personalized sleeves with gold ink drawing and hand written labels done in black ink.
Hush Arbors is the primary musical project of American musician singer/songwriter/guitarist Keith Wood. His music uses traditional folk merged with elements of country and psychedelic music. Along with releasing solo material Wood is also a current member of Chelsea Light Moving. He has toured with and worked with musicians including Current 93, Six Organs of Admittance, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Jack Rose, Wooden Wand and Voice of the Seven Woods.
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Imperium is a studio album released in 1987 by the English experimental group Current 93. It was made during a musical style shift between the earlier abrasive industrial sound of Current 93, and the more neofolk inspired approach that would characterize most of their subsequent output. It was originally released as an LP in 1987 on the Maldoror label, but in 1992 it was also released as a CD on David Tibet's Durtro label. Since then it has been reissued several times as both LP and CD on Durtro. The latest issue is from 2006, and is only for sale in Russia and CIS countries.
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Island is a studio album by HÖH and Current 93, released in November 1991 through Durtro. It differs from much of Current 93's output due to its prominent use of synthesizers and ambient music. Some of the compositions also appear on HÖH's soundtrack for the film Children of Nature. The CD release of Island includes humorous bonus tracks.