Bardo Pond

Free improvised sounds

Bardo Pond formed in Philadelphia in 1991 according to Wikipedia, though other sources say 1989. The name comes from the Bardo Thodol, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and Wikipedia says Clint Takeda named the band. Michael Gibbons has said the members met after university and began with free improvised sounds; they did not really learn how to play songs until about four years in. Joe Culver was the second drummer, after Bob Sentz left to focus on painting. Most members work in the art world as installation technicians and museum art handlers; Michael Gibbons told Vice in 2015 that their day jobs had basically turned into careers.

They self-distributed the cassette Shone Like a Ton in 1992, released Bufo Alvarius, Amen 29:15 on Drunken Fish in 1995 and Amanita on Matador in 1996. Set and Setting (August 10, 1999) was the first LP made at their rehearsal space, Lemur House, with ADAT recorders and outboard gear. Hash Jar Tempo, a project with Roy Montgomery founded in March 1995, produced Well Oiled (1997) and Under Glass (1999) on Drunken Fish. Their Volume series and albums such as Dilate (2001), Ticket Crystals (2006), Bardo Pond (2010 on Fire), Yntra (2012), Peace on Venus (October 28, 2013) and Under the Pines (February 24, 2017) followed; Volume 9 arrived on February 23, 2024 and a double Volumes 4 & 5 on Fire in May 2025.

Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson invited them to the Vivid Festival at the Sydney Opera House in 2010, they played the ATP festival curated by Jim Jarmusch that year, opened for Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Union Transfer in Philadelphia on October 2, 2012 and supported the Jesus and Mary Chain at the Roundhouse in London in July 2015. Thurston Moore called the 2010 album one of the coolest records he had heard in a long time. Michael and John Gibbons also record as Vapour Theories, and Kourkounis played in Hot Snakes and the Night Marchers. In a 2024 Freq interview the band said activity had slowed after COVID-19 and the loss of the Lemur House warehouse, with no shows planned.