Meet Beef

The notion of the one-man band isn’t necessarily a new idea, but the music created by enigmatic producer Beef Wellington stretches that concept beyond what most have come to expect in an era dominated by singularly-focused beat makers. Beef’s funk-infused compositions have a groove that betrays their computer-sequenced origins, invoking the sounds of the past – electric pianos, analog synthesizers and clavinet, to name a few – and presenting them through a more modern lens. 

A stylistic descendant of instrumentalist visionaries such as Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Herbie Hancock, Beef Wellington’s approach to music-making has always been to get a computer to sound like a full band. Reconstructing the sounds of 70s-80s funk, jazz and soul that he first heard being sampled in the hip hop and dance songs of his adolescence, Beef stands at the forefront of the second generation of sampling: creating a sampled vibe executed almost exclusively via played and sequenced instruments. 

Beef tends to keep a low profile, preferring for the music to take the spotlight; subsequently, listeners may be more familiar with his songs than they’re aware of. Over the years, Beef Wellington tracks have been licensed heavily for shows on MTV, ABC, HBO, Showtime, as well as video game titles from EA Sports. Those who have followed his catalog over the years will notice that Beef’s musical journey has led to a more refined sound, bringing new context to the grooves of yesterday through the technological exploration of today.

Throw in some elements from other formative genres – Brazilian bossa nova, afrobeat, downtempo, lounge, and acid jazz – and you’ve got the recipe for the cuisine that Beef is cooking. The result is a listening experience that is immediately danceable, nostalgic but contemporary, and constantly evolving within the rhythms and melodic progression of each track. When the producers of tomorrow search for untapped music to sample in their songs, they will very likely be digging in the crates of Beef Wellington.