The band formed in July 1998, and began by opening for
New Zealand bands
Salmonella Dub and
Pitch Black Jakob continued touring with artists such as
HDU and fellow Midium artists Avotor and Meterman, as well as playing at the 2002
Big Day Out. A period of inactivity followed, lasting between six and eight months. The band didn't play together during that time, and for two months didn't even see each other. They regrouped in January 2003 with ideas for new songs, and spent a week at The Church studio with David Holmes. This session was ultimately scrapped, but after more rehearsal final versions of the songs were recorded over two days in March.
Cale:Drew, their second full-length album, was released in August 2003 and garnered Jakob another
bNet nomination. International touring followed in 2004, to
Chicago (where they played at studio radio station WXRT),
Denmark, and the
United Kingdom. They were well received at every venue, and released a 7" single,
Semaphore, in Europe. Also that year, they released the one-track mini-album
Dominion, and played a 25-minute set at Radio New Zealand's Helen Young Studios (consisting of the songs Laburnum, Semaphore, Nice Day for an Earthquake, and Jimmy Hoffa). 2005 saw more international touring by Jakob, with the band playing at
South by Southwest in March, and
Australia in September (in support of the release of
Cale:Drew there) and again in late October (with Australian band
Cog). It also saw the release of their
Diffusion 7" and
Coalescence, a 12" compilation from Midium Records, featuring a track by Jakob. Jakob played concerts all through New Zealand in August 2006 as part of the
A Low Hum tour, and released their third album
Solace in September 2006. In April 2008 Jakob toured Europe with
Isis and The Austerity Program, and Australia with
Cog. They also completed a US tour in the second half of 2008, once again with ISIS. During 2008 and 2009 members Jeff Boyle and Maurice Beckett worked on other projects. Maurice with his solo project Desbot, and Jeff with a project entitled Mean with H. Walker from Avotor and Kerretta. The debut Mean LP entitled "Knowing" was released in December 2012. In March 2010, Jakob announced a four-date April tour of NZ, heading in May and June to the US West Coast to support Isis' tour once again. In January 2011, they supported
Tool on their Australian tour. On 29 April 2013, it was announced via the band's
Facebook page that they were to join Tool again as support act for their
Vector Arena shows. In October 2013, Jakob featured on the soundtrack for the surf documentary Waverider by Gareth Davies and RedYeti Films, directed by Karl Lear, winner of Best Picture (2013) in New Zealand and Best Picture (2014) in Hawaii. In January 2015, they played at
St Jerome's Laneway Festival in Auckland. They also went on to support
Royal Blood at the Wellington Laneway sideshow. On 15 October 2022, bassist Maurice Beckett announced via Jakob's
Facebook page that they would be heading into the studio to record a yet unnamed sixth album, beginning in January 2023. == Discography ==