Geoff Barrow to leave Beak>: “New music and activity will come along when the time is right”

"In terms of future Beak> activity there's life in the old dog yet, but we need time to mourn our Geoff"

Geoff Barrow has announced he’s leaving Beak>.

• READ MORE: The Roots Of… Portishead

In a statement shared to Twitter/X yesterday (September 27), the band revealed Barrow, also a member of Portishead, would be departing the lineup “after nearly 16 years of bad language & random tempo decisions”.

They went on to say that their upcoming shows in the UK and Europe this year, and in the US early next year, will be his final performances with the group.

“When we first met for a jam at the Invada Christmas party in 2008 we had no idea it would result in a collection of albums, singles, E.P’s and soundtracks we’re all really proud of,” the statement said.

“In terms of future Beak> activity there’s life in the old dog yet, but we need time to mourn our Geoff. New music & activity will come along when the time is right. And for now, the 3 of us are going to rehearse for this upcoming tour and make these final set of shows with Geoff memorable for us and our fans.

“Thanks to all our fans old & new for all your support over these last 16 years.”

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Beak> released their fourth studio album ‘>>>>’ earlier this year. Since forming back in 2009, they’ve shared their debut ‘>’, 2012 sophomore album ‘>>’ and 2018’s ‘>>>’. Their most recent album saw them looking to “deliver another taste of a different moment, suspended in stasis and simultaneously rushing towards the vanishing point on the horizon”.

With ‘>>>>’, Beak> dropped the project in its entirety, without previously hinting at the record nor sharing any singles in advance. This, the members explain, was to encourage listeners to absorb the content in its entirety, and interpret the tracklist as a full body of work.

Barrow will join the band on the remaining tour dates this year, which will kick off on October 30, with an opening night at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff, followed by a slot at The O2 Forum in Kentish Town on November 1. Other UK shows commence throughout the first week of November and include stops in Brighton, Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds.

From there, five shows across France are planned for the remainder of the month, as are performances in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. The two final gigs of the year will take place at The Button Factory in Dublin and Bristol’s SWX on December 12 and 14 respectively.

You can see a full list of tour dates below and visit here to find any remaining tickets.

Beak>’s tour dates are:

OCTOBER
30 – UK Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach

NOVEMBER
1 – London, The O2 Forum Kentish Town
2 – Brighton, Concorde 2
6 – Manchester, New Century Hall
7 – Glasgow, Saint Luke’s
8 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
11 – Lorient, L’Hydrophone
13 – Paris, Élysée Montmartre
15 – Lyon, L’Epicerie Moderne
16 – Nantes, Le Lieu Unique
17 – Tourcoing, Le Grand Mix
19 – Brussels, Orangerie, Botanique
20 – Amsterdam, Melkweg – Oude Zaal
21 – Nijmegen, Doornroosje
23 – Winterthur, Salzhaus
25 – Munich, Hansa 39
27 – Berlin, Gretchen
29 – Copenhagen, Pumpehuset

DECEMBER
12 – Dublin, The Button Factory
14 – Bristol, SWX

In other news, earlier this year Barrow suggested Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign sampled Portishead on a ‘Vultures 2’ track without permission.

He posted a clip of ‘Field Trip’ – which features Don Toliver, Kodak Black and Playboi Carti – as well as reportedly sampling Portishead’s ‘Machine Gun’ on X/Twitter.

Barrow appeared to be referencing another instance when ‘Machine Gun’ was sampled without permission, writing: “FFS. Not again”, also taking to Instagram to say: “Why can’t he write his own beats?”

In 2013, The Weeknd released ‘Belong To The World’, and Barrow accused the Canadian singer of using the track without permission.

Tweeting directly at the singer, Barrow wrote: “When someone asks to sample you and you refuse they should have the respect as a fellow artist to not use it.”

Elsewhere, Barrow’s Portishead bandmate Beth Gibbons released her highly-anticipated solo album ‘Lives Outgrown’ earlier this year. It marks the first solo album to be shared from the iconic trip-hop frontwoman, and contains 10 new tracks recorded over a period of 10 years.

“On ‘Lives Outgrown’ Gibbons uses this history to her advantage. She cannily foregrounds the weather-beaten gravitas of her vocal at each turn, its familiarity holding us tight so that, in parallel, she can undercut that feeling of safety by continually pointing out the grains of sand falling into the wrong half of the hourglass,” read a glowing four-star review from NME.

“She subverts the roots of own legacy with vital new work that exists in the now because it has to.”