Issue 106 / Dec 2019/Jan 2020

Bristol electronic three-piece BEAK> have been a
creative force for a decade now – and they continue
to reach new heights on nothing but their own terms.
Considering the immersive and compelling musical
landscapes they’ve become known for, the concept behind the
band is actually relatively simple: it’s about creating explorative
music free from any bullshit or expectations.
An outlet for the three to experiment and innovate away
from their other musical endeavours, the band is in healthier
shape than ever before (although you can be sure Geoff
Barrow would have a self-deprecating joke to hand about that
statement).
Following another ambitious year on the road and in the
studio, they’re hitting the Arts Club as part of their December
UK tour. As Rhys Buchanan picked up the phone to bassist Billy
Fuller to chat about their last 12 months, the ever-present sense
of drive and community behind the band remains palpable.
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So, two glorious releases in the last few years, how’s it all
been in your world?
It’s been super productive since we’ve done our third album
[>>>] and the last EP [Life Goes On]. We’ve been going to new
places as well which is always refreshing. This year Mexico has
been really good for us – we never thought anything like that
would ever happen, but we played a festival there and it seemed
to just land, the crowd went crazy for it. So the organisers of the
festival had us back for a show in Mexico City and Guadalajara
a few weeks ago. Both shows sold out and they want us back
again next year. When we first started to do Beak>, I never
expected anything like that to happen. It’s crazy reaching such
heavy heights. We’re just buzzing now and really excited for the
upcoming UK tour.
You’ve been a band for a long time now, do those moments
keep you motivated?
That’s always a massive motivation for us, getting to play all
of these great places and seeing all of the happy faces. The
other motivation is to make tunes that excite us away from the
other bands that we’ve been in, which is the reason why we
got together. It’s still a totally different experience; it’s the most
interesting band that I’ve ever been in and long may it last. We
wouldn’t do it if we weren’t having fun. It’s all about enjoying
ourselves and making good music.
Do you think that element of freedom is a massive part of
Beak> for you guys?
Yeh, sometimes it’s not even very serious. I don’t know if you’ve
seen our live shows, but sometimes we just take the piss out
of each other onstage. A friend of mine said the other day they
heard someone saying we’re like a comedy act with songs inbetween.
It’s mostly about when we get in the room together,
we don’t discuss much, we just fire things around, some things
land and some things don’t. We all come up with stuff, bring
ideas in and other times we do it on the fly in the studio. There’s
not much discussion about it, we’re just trying to push for
something we haven’t done before. We don’t want to repeat
ourselves from here on in.
That seems true of your live schedule, as well: earlier in the
year you played on a bridge in Bristol for Extinction Rebellion
which felt quite spontaneous...
That came about because I had to go into town for some
shopping – I didn’t even know that was happening. I walked past
Bristol Bridge and I was like, ‘Hang on a second what’s going
on here?’ I was there for about an hour chatting to people and
thought it would be cool if they were up for us doing it. We went
to play some tunes there and played a different set to bring some
attention to it all. It worked out really well, we did a couple of
Gary Numan tunes like Cars because everyone was frustrated
with the traffic, then we did a cover of Pigbag which went down
great. I think there’s a good video of that online.
This year you’ve got another Christmas charity event lined up
helping the homeless in Bristol.
Do you feel like it’s important to
be engaged with the community
as a band?
You’ve always got to be active and
look out for other people. We’ve
always believed in that and will
always do it. The ‘Give A Shit
Christmas’ thing is something that
we’ll do every December as long
as we’re together. I don’t know
what it’s like in Liverpool, but the
scale of the homeless problem is
the worst it’s ever been in Bristol.
I don’t want to get too political,
but I put a lot of blame on the Tory
government and austerity for that.
There should always be money available for a human being.
Everybody is someone’s son or daughter out there and people
are dying. It’s disgusting and we’re not up for it. That’s the
reason why we do this event for local charities every year. Last
year we raised £9,000 and, with a bigger venue, this year we’re
hoping to get five times that.
GIG
BEAK>
EVOL @ Arts Club – 05/12
“I don’t want to
be responsible for
boring anyone. I think
it’s best to keep it
interesting and keep
the hooks coming”
Constantly sharpening the edges of their three-sided setup, these
masters of sonic immersion know better than most how to keep it
sounding fresh.
Speaking of that sense of community, to what extent does
having Invada Studios at your disposal help the band’s fluidity?
The fact that it’s there for us is invaluable to be honest. It’s like
a miniature Motown. When you go in, it’s like the label. All the
records are there ready for mailorder;
the releases are everywhere,
filed away. We rehearse in the
same room that we record in.
When it first started we could
pick and choose when we went in.
Now we have to book a lot further
in advance. It’s great when we’re
in because we have it and can do
some serious damage. It’s deluxe,
really. We’re spoilt.
Your songs are quite sprawling
and immersive. How disciplined
do you need to be when it comes
to playing live?
As a live thing, we never do any jamming; there’s never any
heads-down, doing a Hawkwind kind of thing. People are
always surprised by that. Otherwise, if there was anything more
to get out of it then we would do it on track. I’m not putting
anyone down, but I find that when a band’s head goes down
they just starting whacking on the wah-wah and the fuzz pedal
and they’ve had one too many goes on the bong. It just bores
me. I don’t want to be responsible for boring anyone. I think it’s
best to keep it interesting and keep the hooks coming.
They’ve been coming for some time now and it seems it will be
that way long into the future?
Yeh, it’s all a discipline because, ultimately, we go through a lot
of pain to make an album. The first album was the easiest thing
we’d ever done because we didn’t properly know each other back
then. So, we went into the studio, had a cup of tea, set our gear
up and just started playing. The first song on the first album is
us playing for the very first time in the studio. That all came very
quick and easy because it was so natural. Then you go on tour
and find out who you are, then once you’re involved then you’re
working within parameters from there on in. Album four, which
we’re starting work on in the new year, will be another adventure/
headache/brilliant experience. If we’re up, then hopefully we’ll
carry on making good and interesting music. That’s where it lies
really. It’s not that difficult to think about, if we’re happy then the
music will come out the back of it. !
Words: Rhys Buchanan / @Rhys_Buchanan
Photography: Daniel Patlán-Desde
@BeakBristol
Beak> play Arts Club on Thursday 5th December. Life Goes On is
available now via Invada Records.
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