The Beige - An atmospheric pop-jazz quintet.

THE BEIGE'S EL ÁNGEL EXTERMINADOR: FAQs

Why El Ángel Exterminador?

The "title track" on the album is "The Exterminating Angel", a spacious, surreal ballad. It was partly inspired by Luis Buñuel's classic film of the same name which, in the original Spanish, is called El Ángel Exterminador. The Spanish title embodies a sense of mystery and quiet menace that reflects the music on this album. Besides, Exterminador is such a cool word.

Who the hell is The Beige?

Andrew Arida: piano, accordion, organ; Geoff Gilliard: drums; Mark Haney: double bass; Rick Maddocks: vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion, miscellany; Jon Wood: guitars, lap steel, dobro, miscellany

What the hell is The Beige?

The Beige is not a rock act; it's a five-headed quiet beast of atmospheric roots music, with dashes of loops and field recordings for good measure. The Beige rose from the ashes of the alt-country outfit Palace Flophouse in 2001, when Rick Maddocks asked the other original members to work on a series of songs that would ultimately make up the debut album 01. Their ranks were soon boosted by double-bass player Mark Haney, whose performing background included stints with mariachi bands and the Vancouver Symphony. A jazzy, more open interpretation of the Beige's roots-based music began to take shape around the other key ingredients: Maddocks's cinematic compositions and wide-ranging voice, Jon Woods's lush treatment of stringed instruments, Geoff Gilliard's restrained drumming and Andrew Arida's luxuriously retro-sounding keyboards. As Toronto's This Magazine says, "It's apparent that this Vancouver quintet is no gang of inexperienced players."

But why The Beige?

While the band was developing its identity, it would change its name for each show. "We need a neutral name," someone said. Someone else shot back, "The Beige," and they all laughed. Although the name started as a joke, a couple of the bandmates have since tried to take credit for it. Lazier brains might look at the name "The Beige" and draw the easy preconception about its sound but, as The Georgia Straight says, "The Beige is anything but bland." The more you listen, the more colours you'll hear. Also, astronomers have found that the colour of the universe is beige.

What kind of songs are on El Ángel Exterminador?

  • Road: A spiky, jazzy celebration of the apocalypse. Written before the Cormac McCarthy novel appeared!
  • I Got a Job in the Belly of the Beast: A working man's ballad from hell. What else?
  • King George: A funky conflation of the Bush years, floating slums and trains to the suburbs.
  • The Exterminating Angel: A surrealist ballad. Love in the asylum, with viola and dancing bear.
  • Ponce De León: One conquistador, one fountain of youth, around and around...instrumentally.
  • Different Roads (Fall and Rise): The purest reflection of The Beige's layered live sound? A title with brackets.
  • Underground is Waiting: Repetition and release, with relentless funk and stylophone.
  • Este País: A drinking song sung by a village of ghosts somewhere in Central America?
  • Fin: An improvisation at a construction site in eternity, with a surprising, bittersweet filling.

What's Next?

Rick Maddocks is writing a commissioned work called "The Meal" for the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival—a cycle of songs based on the Gnostic gospels, featuring four singers and four-piece band. The Lost Gospel Ensemble will feature members of The Beige, along with musicians from a host of Vancouver indie acts such as Fond of Tigers, The Abramson Singers and The Nautical Miles. "The Meal" will premiere at the PuSh Festival in Vancouver, February 2, 2010.