Biography

Bek Varcoe

Bek has extensive experience across a multitude of facets of the music industry. Her involvement ranges from performing and song writing to studio engineering, theatrical touring and outside broadcasts for radio.

Bek’s interest in music began very early when she started learning the flute and classical ballet at primary school. She went on to write and arrange music at high school whilst also performing in school musical productions and later the Riverina Theatre Company, before commencing tertiary studies. At Charles Sturt University her BA (Television and Sound) included distinctions and high distinctions in Multitrack Recording, Film Soundtrack, Theatre Sound and Outside Broadcast.

Since graduating, her involvement in theatre has extended to encompass sound design, production management and sound operation for both venues and production companies. She has worked as the house technician at the Thornbury Theatre, and production manager and chief sound engineer at The Performance Space. Recent theatre work has included productions of Fairy Friends Forever, Play School and the independent production of Body Bag. She has also mixed for a comedy Gala at Her Majesty’s in Melbourne, and designed and operated sound for the Womens’ Circus.

Her broad range of studio experience is not merely as a recording engineer, but also encompasses everything from studio design and construction to staff training and studio management. Her recordings include numerous releases in a variety of genres ranging from classical to country music and metal. She recorded and mixed Tugboat’s albums and most recently recorded Kurosawa’s album. She has also recorded and broadcast live, dozens of artists including PJ Harvey, Jurassic 5, and Paul Kelly.

Bek’s Front of House mixing credits include long term work with Sophie Koh, The Devastations, Black Cab, Silver Ray, Cam Butler and the Shadows of Love Orchestra, The Dumb Earth, Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set, and Matt Walker and the Necessary Few. She was also the tour manager for many of these acts, both nationally and internationally. Her work on festivals includes the Meredith Music Festival, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues, Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

Her musical credits include drums, backing vocals and co-writing with Heligoland, drums, lead vocals and co-writing with Tugboat, and studio backing vocals on albums for Machine Translations and The Hired Guns.