The Buddha of Suburbia (album)

The Buddha of Suburbia
A shirtless boy with multiple priests beside him
Studio album / soundtrack album by
David Bowie
Released8 November 1993 (1993-11-08)
RecordedAugust 1993
Studio
Genre
Length55:26
LabelArista
Producer
David Bowie chronology
Black Tie White Noise
(1993) 		The Buddha of Suburbia
(1993) 		The Singles Collection
(1993)
Alternative cover
A middle-aged man with a goatee sitting on a bed
2007 reissue cover
Singles from The Buddha of Suburbia
  1. "The Buddha of Suburbia"
    Released: 22 November 1993

The Buddha of Suburbia is the 19th studio album[a] by the English musician David Bowie, originally released on 8 November 1993 through Arista Records in the United Kingdom and Europe. The project originated following an interview between Bowie and novelist Hanif Kureishi during a press tour for Black Tie White Noise (1993), where Bowie agreed to compose music for an upcoming adaptation of Kureishi's novel The Buddha of Suburbia (1990). After making basic tracks, Bowie decided to turn the project into a full album. Working with musician Erdal Kızılçay, recording took place at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland and was completed in six days; Mike Garson contributed piano overdubs.

The album's music primarily consists of numerous motifs created using various instruments and contain references to his late-1970s works. Commentators recognised rock, pop, ambient, jazz and experimental themes throughout. The music itself bears little resemblance to the music of the BBC serial; only the title track featured in the programme. Aside from three instrumentals, the lyrics are non-linear, which Bowie utilised as a way to reduce narrative form.

Initially marketed as a soundtrack album, The Buddha of Suburbia flopped and received little promotion from Bowie himself, despite receiving positive reviews from British critics. It was not released in the United States until October 1995 through Virgin Records with updated artwork. It fell back into obscurity until a worldwide reissue through EMI in 2007, although it still remains one of Bowie's least-known works. Nevertheless, reviewers have praised The Buddha of Suburbia as a forgotten gem in his catalogue. Bowie himself named it his favourite album in 2003. A remastered version was released in 2021 as part of the box set Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001).

  1. ^ Pegg 2016, pp. 421–423.
  2. ^ Pegg 2016, pp. 11–12.
  3. ^ Buckley 2005, pp. 421–425.
  4. ^ Trynka 2011, pp. 481–496.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference PopMatters was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Discography". David Bowie. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Bowie: Every tour and studio album". BBC. 15 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2021.


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