An Interview with Beloved Binge Before the Duo’s Last Show as Durham Residents (For Now)

“Zoe,” the second song on the new EP that longtime Durham duo Beloved Binge will release tonight at The Pinhook, lasts for less than two minutes. But the little ditty quickly expresses the essence of Eleni Binge and Rob Beloved, who have been consistent creative, community, and activist powerhouses in the Triangle since relocating here in 2005.

First, there is the beat, a buzzing little electroclash echo, and the accompanying wordless vocals, which suggest a bird call of mating season. At their core a minimal indie rock band with a love of slightly askew harmonies, Beloved Binge has been forever playfully restless, folding in new bits of folk or rock or Greek music to stretch their own sound. The start of “Zoe,” then, is both very surprising and not at all, a reflection of the duo’s guiding spirit for its Durham decade.

And then there are the lyrics, an antiphonal volley between Rob and Eleni that captures their shared rapport and purpose: “I do what I want/When I want to do it/But I don’t eat meat/because an animal grew it.” Alongside the music they’ve made, Rob and Eleni have worked as seemingly tireless vegan advocates in the Triangle, helping to drive such area programs as Triangle Meatless Mondays, Bull City Vegan Challenge, and Durham Vegan Drinks. They’ve even made movies about the stuff.

In fact, the couple’s latest film, #Comments, will take them on the tour that eventually takes them away from Durham and, for at least a year, to a new life in New York. In #Comments, an ongoing series of films, they act out responses to articles about vegan mayonnaise. Starting June 4, they will tour west while showing the film. They’ll spend a month in their old town of Seattle before touring back across the country and finding housing in New York.