Beak> - Interview – October 2009
By: Sian Norris
[ILLUSTRATION BY BOBBY GRIGGS]
My fellow Bristolians will all be familiar with Beak members Geoff, Billie and Matt, so it is great to see that the Invada label mates have got together to form their own project. I caught up with bassist Billie Fuller to find out how they met, what they play and where they’re going.
“My band Fuzz Against Funk is on Invada, Geoff’s label, as was Matt who plays as Team Brick. Then about two years ago we were all at the Invada Acid Test, a big label party, and there were about ten of us all playing together, and since then the three of us had always planned to get together and see what happens. And this year we did it.”
Matt, Billie and Geoff have all been a part of the Bristol music scene for years, with Geoff forming Portishead with Beth and Adrian back in the mid nineties, Matt playing as Team Brick and Billie forming bands The Moles and Fuzz Against Funk, Invada’s first signing. Bristol has helped form and shaped the band, and a love of the city is apparent in the history of the members.
“We’re all from Bristol,” Billie explains. “And I’ve played in Bristol bands all my life, Fuzz Against Funk, the Moles…I played bass on the new Massive Attack album, and I like my Bristol bands.”
This really shone in the involvement of Beak members in the Invada party at Colston Hall. “It was all part of the re-launching of Colston Hall (Bristol’s biggest music venue has just had a massive refurbishment, including a new foyer and bar – Sian) so it was great to be part of that and promote music in Bristol,” Billie explains of their involvement. “It was a great night, and we had a good crowd, although we played at the same time as Mogwai, so I think most people went to check them out!”
In Beak>, the three members have created a band that defy classification, due in part to the range of talents and sounds they each bring to the table. Individually the members each have strong musical personalities, from the minimalist and achingly beautiful electronica we associate with Barrow, to the dissonant, oral terrorist sounds of Team Brick. Billie’s passion for sixties psychedelia and kite rock adds another depth and element that makes Beak>’s sound so interesting. Everything feels very organic, that the ideas and feelings each member brings to the studio is built upon and expressed, whilst never feeling disjointed or lacking in unity.
“We have the sound of the beat,” muses Billie. “We all have our different influences, we’re quite different, so we just played to see what happened.”
Billie used to work at iconic Bristol record shop Replay Records (RIP) where he had the opportunity to discover so much music. “I listened to whatever I could get my hands on. When I worked at Replay I listened to loads of vinyl and could hear all this music that was new to me.” The musical knowledge, and passion that the band members have, has allowed them to take their influences, take their personal talents and specialisms, to create both a lovely and remarkable outfit.
With the release of the album the band are now playing a tour throughout December, including Bristol date on the 20th of December at the Arnolfini, and an exciting in-store Rough Trade gig in London on the 4th of November. Needless to say, they come highly recommended.
Artists in this article: Beak>