Peach Pit

Peach Pit

Peach Pit is the name of more than one group. The entry here refers to the Croatian math rock, post-rock and experimental band from Zagreb, which forms in 1994. The group begins with Bruno Vidović and Mihael Bele, who start the project after several informal sessions and settle on the name Peach Pit. The early lineup includes Mihael Bele on guitar, Bruno Vidović on drums, and Branko Beðtak on bass.

Early development and line-up changes

The band first plays loud, partly vocal material with a noise rock approach. Those early performances include stage effects such as firecrackers, feedback and stage diving, and the group often plays with a raw live intensity. By 1996, Peach Pit becomes fully instrumental under the influence of newer music from abroad. The band also plays with acts such as Zeni Geva.

In spring 1997, Franjo Gluðac, formerly of Liquid Light, joins on second guitar. His arrival coincides with Beðtak’s departure, leaving Peach Pit as a trio with Franjo and Mihael handling guitars and bass, and Bruno on drums. Later, Bruno Motik joins on second guitar in 1999, creating the lineup that the band maintains from then on. The added guitar part pushes the songwriting in a more complex direction and helps define the group’s later sound.

Recordings and releases

Peach Pit’s first compilation appearances come during this period, and the band begins preparing its first release. Tricky Slaughter Operation is issued as a CD-R in spring 1998 in a run of 100 copies. It is recorded live over six months in Kozmo and features Tomica Ðãavina of Brassneck on bass, with a guest appearance from Beðtak on one track. Around the same time, Mihael and Franjo also play guitar in Lunar, a band that shares a rehearsal space with Peach Pit.

The next self-release, Autom csep, is mostly recorded by overdubbing in Kozmo in summer 1998 and is issued together with a Christmas greeting card EP later that year. After a short break from concerts, the band records its first official album, Suspicious Cargo, in June 1999. It is released nine months later on Ivica Barièeviã’s Earwing Records, and Bara also acts as promoter for many of the band’s concerts during that period.

Material for a second album, Music for the Fruitcake Generation, is recorded in summer 2000 but is lost. Some of that material is later re-recorded in 2004 using a live-to-tape method for inclusion on Interstellar Records’ Supernova 2 compilation. In January 2006, the band records four new Sport Rock songs in Kozmo, described in the group’s own terms as “sport-rock”, a name it gives to its music.

Style and live reputation

Peach Pit develops from harsh, noisy beginnings into an instrumental band associated with math rock, post-rock and experimental music. Their work is rooted in the heritage of bands such as Big Black, Killdozer and Scratch Acid, while also drawing on the newer instrumental influences they hear in the mid-1990s. The group’s shows become known for intensity and physical performance, although the band is sometimes interrupted by sound engineers or police during early concerts.

Later activity

By the early 2000s, Peach Pit takes a break after heavy touring and the loss of album material, then returns for a short European tour in 2003 as a five-piece, with Branko Beðtak back on bass and Bruno Motik on second drums and guitar. The band continues to work on new material in the years that follow.