Beautiful Bells is the Alabama-born Justin Peake, who now splits his time between New Orleans and Brooklyn. While primarily a drummer, music has always been at the center of Peake’s life, starting with the violin at age 4, and later the piano at age 6, learning drums and guitar in his early teens, Justin’s family history is deeply rooted in Jazz. With a broad and eclectic array of musical influences, citing names like Iannis Xenakis, J Dilla, Fela Kuti, Bill Evans, Autechre, John Cage, and many in between, harmonious complexity is the fuel behind many of Justin’s multifaceted works.
With more concern regarding the true expression of a musical vision, Peake states that “I don’t want to say something musically or artistically that’s already been said because…well, it’s already been said. The next record will be different. And the one after that will be different too, and on and on. I’m coming at electronic music [based on] what feels good to me.” As Beautiful Bells, his forward-thinking beats wax future jazz with ample helpings of homemade samples and improvised melodies, fusing them with synths, as well as instruments both digital and analog. Perhaps it is best summed up by examining the meaning of the name Beautiful Bells— the root “bell” is used in many languages in the word “beautiful,” while the ringing of bells produces some of the most physically complex tones that we observe in the world. “Funny that our word for the most complex of tones means ‘beautiful.’” |
