Paik

Paik traces its beginnings to 1996, when guitarist Rob Smith joined bassist Ali Clegg and drummer Ryan Pritts in collaborative work inside Michigan's rising space rock community. The trio's first album, Hugo Strange, surfaced in 1998 through Beyonder Records. The Spacer EP followed on the same label in 1999. Corridors arrived in 2001 and stood as the group's most ambitious release to that point. The band placed tracks on two compilations, Noise Factory Records' Beautiful Noise...the Apocalypse in 1999 and Datacarbon Records' Across Woodward, Vol. 1 in 2001. By then Paik's concerts had earned near-legendary status, relying on smoke, mirrors, light shows, and films to heighten the music's intricate and dreamlike character. Worldwide critical recognition for the group's expansive instrumental rock had built by 2002, when The Orson Fader appeared on Clairecords. After shifting to Strange Attractors two years later, Paik delivered its fourth album, Satin Black, which preceded 2006's Monster of the Absolute.