PREORDER: Tek, Deniz [Radio Birdman] ‎–The Beat [IMPORT. GREEN NOISE EXCLUSIVE RED Vinyl] – New LP

At the centre of The Beat there is not an idea, a concept, or a plan. There is a rhythm. And the person who played it. In 2015, while working on material for the Mean Old Twister album, Deniz Tek and Ric Parnell spent time playing together without a goal. Ric on drums, Deniz on rhythm guitar. No rules, no formula, no songs to finish. Just following the moment. The sessions were recorded casually, then put away and forgotten.
Ric Parnell passed away in May 2022.

Parnell was a drummer with a long and distinctive history. He first came to prominence with Atomic Rooster in the early 1970s, contributing to their most influential work, and later became widely known as the drummer in Spinal Tap, where technical precision and musical intelligence were hidden behind satire. Beyond the credits, Ric was a deeply musical player, with a strong sense of dynamics, restraint and forward motion. He played for the song, always.

Years later, Ron Sanchez came across the recordings and sent them to Deniz. Hearing them again for the first time in nearly a decade, Tek was struck by their clarity. Ric’s drum tracks were not loose ideas or rough sketches. Every take was close to perfection. Focused, musical, complete. Those performances became the foundation of a new album.

The Beat grew from that realization. Tek built new songs around Ric’s original drum performances, writing and arranging music that followed their natural flow rather than imposing structure. Some of the original rhythm guitar remains. All vocals and many guitar parts are new, with additional guitar and bass contributions from Anne Tek and Bob Brown.

This is not an archival release, nor an exercise in reconstruction. The Beat is a record made in the present, guided by trust in the past. It reflects on continuity, on how music survives the moment it is played, and on the idea that rhythm does not end with absence. The beat goes on, not as a phrase, but as a reality. The Beat is Deniz Tek’s loving tribute to a dear departed friend, made by following the music where it wanted to go.