Genre Peak

September 28, 2008
Sacramento Single: Genre Peak's "Wear it Well"


Local musician Martin Birke looked far beyond Sacramento to bring an international flair and depth to his latest project.

Birke founded Genre Peak as a electronic pop trio in 2004 but after a band mate moved to New York, he turned to the Internet to add to the core that includes guitarist Christopher Scott Cooper.

The result? Collaboration with influential British bassist Mick Karn (Japan, Kate Bush) and the Spanish electro-pop group Stereoskop as well as a new Canadian vocalist, Tara C. Taylor, and French pop band Kiss & Fly found via MySpace.

Now Birke says, Genre Peak reflects its players exhilarating take on collaboration.

"I gave up my rock star dreams a long time ago," says Birke, whose past projects include Casualty Park, a synth pop duo that composed work for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the 1998 Joe Carnahan film, "Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane."

"Now there's a real joy in getting to work with people who have the same ideas I do - I think that's the success of the album."

Interviewed by Rachel Leibrock - The Sacramento Bee

"Genre Peak’s Preternatural is an interesting and entertaining mix of electronica and alternative. The music has only a small amount of lyrics accompanying it and some of the vocals are a bit sensual . People with eclectic tastes might really like this album. The synthesizers are great and so is the percussion.This is something to listen to if you want to hear something very different than what is on MTV or the radio. Reviewer's Rating: 8
- Marie J. Pellegrino / The Celebrity Cafe

- The Celebrity Cafe

"A return in grand style for a project certainly ambitious, Preternatural possess the qualities necessary to meet an audience of palates not necessarily related to dark music. A disc that proves far more multifaceted than its predecessor for the widest assortment of musicians involved.Genre Peak is a sound where electronics meet silky, melodic and intoxicating arrangements"
- DARKROOM Magazine (Italy)

- Darkroom Magazine

"Trying to avoid the retro sound of many rock bands GP succeeds in coming up with something fresh and entertaining. Mixing the psychedelic atmospheres of Ozrik Tentacles with some Depeche Mode elements, they obtain their own style. Real musicians flirting with synthesizers, without losing themselves in the experiment. Modern rock blurring the line between popular and experimental music! "
- Noa / SIDE-LINE Magazine
- SIDE-LINE Magazine

Set up by Martin Birke, Genre Peak didn't make a great impression on their previous album "Ends Of The World". One of the best elements of time is the eventuality of a growing experience and maturity. I'll not speak about a metamorphosis, but the evolution in sound and ideas is quite considerable! Genre Peak has seriously evolved and now comes the new album "Preternatural", a very coherent and intelligent release. The mix of ambient components and low tempo rhythms has been well executed. The diversity of the atmospheres running through "Preternatural" is another important facet here. Generally speaking the atmospheric element is one of the strongest parts of the album. Male and female vocals are alternating each other. Songs like "Rama", "Different Dangers", Amena" and "People Go Missing All The Time" are the jewels of this new album. In the last part of "Preternatural" we get 2 remixes and these pieces are even better! First there's a very efficient remix of "Wear Your Ruin" by Stereoskop, but the remix by the French Kiss & Fly is also surprising. And that's not all as the very last song entitled "Etherdream" is absolutely great. We here get a sublime mix between ambient, electronic music with some cool sounds and a low rhythmic tempo. A very positive evolution in sound and ideas.
(DP:6/7)DP
- SIDE-LINE Magazine