Thrak was recorded in late 1994 at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England, with producer David Bottrill.

Bottrill had previously produced Fripp and David Sylvian's 1993 album The First Day, which had featured Trey Gunn as a session player.

With the band consisting of two guitarists, two bassists and two drummers, the opening track begins with all six musicians in the center of the audio mix; as the album progresses, they are split into two trios, with one in each stereo channel.

"Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream" and "One Time" were developed at studio rehearsals for the 1994 mini-album Vrooom in Woodstock, New York, during the spring of 1994.

Trouser Press described Thrak as "an absolute monster, a cerebral sextet adventure stunning in its precisely controlled rock power.