Beck

Artist Fact

Active:1985- present
Name: Beck Hansen
Genre: alternative rock, country, funk, electronic, soul, folk, and hip-hop.
Place of brith: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Artist Background

Beck Hansen, who is known by fans as just Beck, is a singer, songwriter, and rapper who performs multiple instruments. He was born in Los Angeles on July 8, 1970.

Beck’s musical styles include alternative rock, country, funk, electronic, soul, folk, and hip-hop. He has released a total of 13 albums, with three of those being produced independently. He has a number of different musical styles, lyrical tastes and sound effects in his music, leading many critics in the industry to call him one of the most peculiar creative musicians of the 1990s and 2000s for alternative rock. Beck not only has musical talent, but also had an art collaboration with his grandfather, Al Hansen. The collaborations were featured in an exhibition titled “Beck & Al Hansen: Playing with Matches.”

Beck moved to New York City in the late 1980s and become a player in the anti-folk movement, but moved back to Los Angeles a few years later. Once back in Los Angeles, he began performing at arthouse clubs and coffeehouses. He wanted to keep indifferent audiences engaged in his music, so he started coming up with ridiculous songs and would play folk songs in what is described as performance art. Beck eventually caught the attention of Margaret Mittelman, who was the talent acquisitions director for BMG Music Publishing. The partnership with Mittleman and Bong Load Custom Records led to the recording of Beck’s hip-hop track “Loser.” This was a one-off project for Beck, who then went back to folk songs and released several independent singles. In 1993, Bong Load released “Loser” as a single and, although only 500 copies were pressed, it unexpectedly got airplay in Los Angeles and became a hit. During this time Beck had offers to sign with major labels and he joined Geffen Records, which allowed him a lot of creative freedom. In 1994, he debuted his first record with Geffen, called “Mellow Gold.”

Artist Music Career

After his initial success, Beck suffered a lot of backlash from critics who said he was a self-indulgent fake. During the summer of 1994, many musicians thought Beck lost his way and he even thought he could be a “one hit wonder.” He gained respect from fellow musicians Tom Petty and Johnny Cash though, and was determined to get back to the sound of “Mellow Gold,” so he got back into the studio to record “Odelay.” This record produced several singles and was a commercial success. He recorded several more albums throughout the next years, including a number of non-album singles. “Modern Guilt” was the last release on Geffen Records before he was released from his contract and started producing independently. In addition to his many solo albums, he has been a part of a number of collaborations and contributions. Beck has contributed songs to the video game “Sound Shapes” and appeared in the award-winning film “The American Epic Sessions.” Beck has also contributed songs to movies and TV shows, including “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” “True Blood,” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.” His most recent studio album debuted in October 2017 following a lengthy production schedule. The album “Colors” was produced by Greg Kurstin, and he and Beck played nearly every instrument on the album themselves. The album was classified as experimental pop fusion and received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Major Works and Achievements

“Odelay” and “Sea Change” are two of Beck’s highest ranked recordings, and both found a place on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list. He has been certified platinum four times and has been nominated for a number of awards, ranging from American Music Awards to Grammy Awards to MTV Video Music Awards. He has won five out of 17 Grammy nominations and six out of 15 MTV Video Music Award nominations.