G.W. Sok of the Ex hones Action Beat’s instrumental clatter

Expect pounding sonic fury cut with poetic lyrics and intellectualism guiding this sonic juggernaut

THE NOISE BAND FROM BLETCHLEY: Action Beat turns out scathing guitar textures, frantic rhythms, and post-punk clatter.
Photo credit: Stuart Southwell/Fortissimo Records

Action Beat is an improvisational rock ensemble founded in Bletchley, England, circa 2004 by guitarist, drummer, and Fortissimo Records owner Don McLean and guitarist and bass player James Carney. For more than a decade they have remained at the center of a fluctuating lineup, turning out scathing guitar textures, frantic rhythms, and instrumental post-punk clatter.

Recently, the group has worked with Dutch singer G.W. Sok, former frontman for Amsterdam’s political punk provocateurs the Ex. The two parties met in 2004. Later, McLean invited Sok to collaborate. “They asked if I would be interested in writing lyrics and add vocals to their music,” Sok says. “Then it happened that they were playing my hometown around that same time, so I experienced them live. That was a very intense concert, so it was easy to say yes.”

Sok’s body of work encompasses singer-songwriter fair, noise, spoken word performances, and skronking free jazz steeped in leftist politics. “It’s obvious I’ve chosen sides,” he says. “I don’t feel obliged to always write about the obvious stuff. I feel free to go in any direction, about any issue or non-issue, as long as I feel I can do something interesting with it, and part of what makes it interesting for me is how I can use the language, the words and create a text of beauty.”

With 2013’s A Remarkable Machine, Sok brings Action Beat’s maelstrom to a fine point with songs such as “Sentence Machine,” “Disappearing Man,” and “Spoonfed Hell.”

Sok was given 10 improvisations to figure out the group’s dynamics and write lyrics. “I wanted the songs to be somehow interconnected but not too obvious, and not too explicit,” he says. “That is kinda different from my work with the Ex, where I usually would approach each tune/song one by one. What was a bizarre surprise to me was the fact that, once I’d put my lyrics on Action Beat’s music, their improvisations suddenly looked like really structured compositions.”

Live, Action Beat channels a wall of noise anchored by three drummers. For this tour, however, there will be only two. “Drummer number three didn’t manage to enter the U.S. — didn’t even manage to leave the U.K.,” Sok says. “But the other two have promised to both give it a 150 percent each instead of just their regular 100 percent, so I’m sure all will work out as planned after all.”

Expect pounding sonic fury cut with poetic lyrics and intellectualism guiding this sonic juggernaut.

[/atlanta/action-beat-ft-gw-sok-of-the-ex-bang-trim-opening-bell-and-cave-bat/Event?oid=17359842|Fri., July 8. With Bang Trim, Opening Bell, and Cave Bat. $8-$10. 9:45 p.m. The Basement, 1245 Glenwood Ave. S.E. 404-622-8686. www.basementatl.com.]