Beak> - Biography
Beak (stylized as BEAK>) is a UK-based krautrock band, consisting of Geoff Barrow (Portishead's producer and multi-instrumentalist), Billy Fuller (Fuzz Against Junk) and Matt Williams (Team Brick). The band has very specific guidelines for their recording and writing process, including recording all instruments live without any overdubs or re-edits. The trio wrote their entire self-titled debut over a span of twelve days in Bristol, England, and recorded it live in one room. The album, Beak (Ipecac Recordings), which drew from the heavy percussive grooves and buzzing analog synths found in the Krautrock era of the '60s and '70s, was released in the US on November 17, 2009. In support of the album, BEAK> performed at Amoeba San Francisco on September 8, 2010 and at Amoeba Hollywood the following day.
Their sophomore album, Beak II, was released on Geoff Barrow's label, Invada, on July 10, 2012. The group continued with the same production method as on the previous album and recorded all the songs in one day. There was a stronger focus on synthesizers at the forefront of the mixes, while vocals were buried deep in the songs, at times being unintelligible. The result was another Krautrock-influenced album full of hypnotic motorik rhythms. They performed at Amoeba Berkeley on February 15, 2013, thus having performed at all three Amoeba store locations.
