Biography
Canadian singer-songwriter Howie Beck crafts pop songs that offset an underlying current of melancholy against the lively appeal of meticulously shaped melodies, a combination that turned him into a worldwide success largely without deliberate effort on his part. Based in Toronto, Beck completed his debut recording in 1997; the self-released and home-recorded Pop and Crash took shape mainly during a period when he was confined indoors recovering from mononucleosis. Although that project attracted limited notice at first, the response it received prompted him to continue, and his follow-up effort, the equally self-made Hollow, achieved stronger results. Issued in 1999 on his own 13 Clouds label just as Pop and Crash had been, the album drew favorable notices and organic enthusiasm that reached the British independent imprint Easy! Tiger Records, whose 2001 edition became a modest commercial success in the U.K. while raising his profile across Canada and the United States.
Beck soon found himself performing alongside artists such as Aimee Mann, Interpol, Stereophonics, and Josh Rouse, with several of his compositions placed on programs including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Felicity. The attacks of September 11, 2001, however, sent him into a prolonged period of despondency, and the subsequent closure of Easy! Tiger Records brought his forward momentum to a standstill. He contributed guest vocals to projects by Hayden and Sarah Harmer, yet his next collection, the self-titled Howie Beck, did not surface until 2004. Once again tracked at home, the album nevertheless presented a richly textured sound, and it appeared in Canada via 13 Clouds before Ever Records arranged a 2006 release for listeners in the United States and Europe.
Beck soon found himself performing alongside artists such as Aimee Mann, Interpol, Stereophonics, and Josh Rouse, with several of his compositions placed on programs including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Felicity. The attacks of September 11, 2001, however, sent him into a prolonged period of despondency, and the subsequent closure of Easy! Tiger Records brought his forward momentum to a standstill. He contributed guest vocals to projects by Hayden and Sarah Harmer, yet his next collection, the self-titled Howie Beck, did not surface until 2004. Once again tracked at home, the album nevertheless presented a richly textured sound, and it appeared in Canada via 13 Clouds before Ever Records arranged a 2006 release for listeners in the United States and Europe.