The initial lineup of Beardfish consisted of frontman Rikard Sjöblom, guitarist David Zackrisson, bassist Gabriel Olsson, and drummer Petter Diamant. Before the end of 2001, Diamant had been replaced by Magnus Östgren, and early in 2002 the band's lineup was augmented by keyboardist Stefan Aronsson. Later that year, Olsson was replaced by Robert Hansen, and it was this lineup that recorded the band's debut album, Från En Plats Du Ej Kan Se, in 2003. Following the release of the album, Aronsson left the band, leaving Beardfish with the four-man lineup which existed for the rest of the duration of the band's existence.
Following the release of the band's second album, The Sane Day, in 2006, the band were signed by InsideOut Music. They have remained on this label ever since, releasing six more albums to date, the latest of which is 2015's +4626-COMFORTZONE.
In 2008, Beardfish toured with fellow progressive rock band The Tangent. The following year they were scheduled to tour North America during the summer as part of Progressive Nation, a tour organized by Dream Theater's then-drummer Mike Portnoy; however, they were forced to withdraw from this event after InsideOut lost funding because its distributor, SPV, declared bankruptcy.
In September 2012, Beardfish were the opening act for all European dates of the band Flying Colors, and in May 2013, were one of the opening acts (along with Sound of Contact) for all European dates of the band Spock's Beard. The band followed this up by touring with Sound of Contact in support of Spock's Beard during 2013. In 2014 the band commenced work on their eighth studio album, with Sjöblom also joining the band Big Big Train in the capacity of touring guitarist. In October it was announced that Sjöblom would remain with Big Big Train in an official capacity. The following month Beardfish announced the completion of their eighth studio album, entitled *+4626-COMFORTZONE, scheduled for release in January 2015. For the tour dates commencing in early 2015 the band extended their touring line-up with the addition of keyboardist Martin Borgh.
In July 2016, the band announced they had broken up.
Bio courtesy of Wikipedia
Stylistically, Beardfish might at first sound as if they are traveling a similar path to many other Swedish progressive bands, with a sound that draws heavily from traditional 1970’s prog bands. Rather than simply being a clone of their influences, Beardfish tosses in a healthy dose of contemporary sounds and instruments, mixed well to create a sound that is fresh and individual while simultaneously hearkening back to the bands that founded the genre. You will hear moments that remind of Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull, and Gentle Giant, as well as moments that are reminiscent of Frank Zappa. At the same time, there’s a modern heavy rock sensibility that is unlike any of those bands, and which helps to keep Beardfish from falling into the same pits and traps so many prog bands find themselves in.There is a world away from the usual radio and MTV formats; a universe in which music effortlessly creates colorful images without excessive visual presentation, captivating its listeners with its haunting structures.
And which, if you listen really carefully, allows the whole range of traditional rock music to pass by the audience’s ear. Beardfish from Sweden are a prime example of this phenomenon, an archetype of an exceptionally expressive prog rock act. Their current album, Sleeping In Traffic: Part Two, features quotes from almost all eras of music history, blending them into an unmistakable sound.
Sleeping In Traffic: Part Two sounds enthralling and timeless and has depth and substance without overtaxing its listeners with overly intricate structures. And last but not least, a distinct sense of humor pervades Beardfish’s music in general and the eight songs on their current release in particular.
“Our music is probably a mixture of many styles, but we never play anything if it isn’t fun to play,” says the band’s vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Rikard Sjöblom. “We’re basically a rock band with tendencies towards the theatrical, especially in the lyrics but also with small musical hints here and there. The main influence is a love of music Beardfish, all music.”
Blueprints of their style are easy to make out: “We’re just as influenced by Radiohead or Elton John as we are by Gentle Giant or Camel.
Of all the influences, some shine through more than others, but we’ve heard it all from the critics, ‘this sounds like Zappa and that sounds like Gentle Giant or Genesis’ for example. But those remarks are never the same for one and the same song, so I guess the holy quest to name a band’s influences is up to each and everyone who takes the time to listen to the music.”
Sleeping In Traffic: Part Two sees Beardfish continue the story which they began in 2007 on SIT: Part One.
The storyline: 24 hours in a person’s life, from one sunrise to the next.
“Sleeping In Traffic: Part One is the day and Sleeping In Traffic: Part Two the night, ending with the suite ‘Sleeping In Traffic’, which is a dream, basically,” Sjöblom explains, hastening to clarify: “It’s not a concept album in the sense that all the songs are intertwined and so on, but on the other hand there is a red thread throughout the two albums. There are no moral codes or lessons or messages in these songs, other than the ones the listener hears for him- or herself.
The lyrics are rather personal, either they’re more or less self-biographical, or they’re downright fictional.”
No doubt: content and direction add up in Beardfish’s music. “Our aim is to make the best music possible with the ‘know-how’ and the resources we have at our hands, and we’ll continue to do just that”, asserts Sjöblom, who enjoys an excellent reputation within the band.
“Rikard is a humble man with the biggest musical assets I’ve ever experienced,” bassist Robert Hansen describes his colleague, adding: “He’s certainly my biggest idol!” Sjöblom in turn praises his drummer, Magnus Östgren: “I don’t know of any other contemporary drummer who plays like Magnus, he practices a lost art in bashing those skins – soft and playful at times or hard and heavy and always in favor of the music.” Östgren on his part compliments guitarist/keyboardist David Zackrisson: ”He is the master of those small mystical details, when you hear something new in a song you’ve heard several times before, it’s most likely the work of David.” And Zackrisson sings bassist Robert Hansen’s praises: “If Beardfish was a pirate ship, then Robert with all his explosiveness would be the cannons, especially on stage where he uses his bass and feet to conquer all that’s in his way.”
We will be able to watch this phenomenon again during Beardfish’s European tour alongside The Tangent and Ritual in May.
That’s certainly something to look forward to!
July 11, 2016
BAND STATEMENT:
After a longer hiatus and some disagreements and various difficulties within the band we have decided to call it quits. This was not an easy choice to make. Beardfish has always been our main musical outlet – a proper garage band – the kind that meet up in the rehearsal studio and try out new material together for long, massive sessions at a time. Some of the best times of our lives have been spent together on the road, in the studio and just hanging out.
Growing up, having families and all that has made that particular way of working very difficult, leading to long periods where we haven't been able to rehearse.. And we LIKE to play.
We've had a very good run though; eight albums in fifteen years, nine if you include "The early years" (ten if you count "The Sane Day" double album as two!). We've toured with some great bands. We've met amazing people and found friends in places we'd never been before.
We want to thank everyone who has supported us throughout the years, you guys are fantastic and the prog community is a very special place to be a part of.
We spent our youth and our early adulthood as Beardfish and we grew up within the band.. Individually we will now venture out into other musical projects. No matter what, Beardfish has been very special and we will all hold it close to our hearts, but right now it's time for new adventures.
Source for the most of this information: http://www.insideout.de/
Bearfish Discography:
Från en plats du ej kan se... (2003)
The Sane Day (2006)
Sleeping in Traffic: Part One (2007)
Sleeping in Traffic: Part Two (2008)
Destined Solitaire (2009)
Mammoth (2011)
The Void (2012)
+4626-COMFORTZONE (2015)
