Music
Press
September 19, 2006 - Not content with the shirt and tie world of the government contract software engineer, Charlie Pecot traded it all in for the life of rock and roll. After discovering the raw power of ethnic instruments and the world fusion scene he "wanted to transcend all that and make it rock." So now, no longer bound to the regulations and codices of the work-a-day world Charlie now punctuates his own musical treatise with melodic essays and articulated grooves.
This is the book on "Falik".
I Received this CD just in time to load on my player for a sweet ride at about 9,000 feet on the ridge trail up American Fork Canyon in Utah. So this music has been along way to hit my ears, right away I noticed a very distinct sound. The music gave way to a Modern Middle Eastern Mediterranean fling, sexy yet intriguing. Defiantly a hybrid, this music was very hard to put my finger on, at times it had a dark draw to it's structure but always seemed to clean and clear its way along the track. I do web work for a belly dancer so I know a part of this sound, but the rest seemed a creative mix of hip-hop, rock, funk and groove.
From the first song Electric Butterfly, I was able to find my grove on the pedal, this had a very good style and beat. I was climbing when the second song The Will of Love started to play, the faint acoustic guitars gave way to a progressive power. New Falik City the 3rd song on the cd was a strong drifting song with a nice beat to move to. By the time I hit the 4th song A Little Like Love I was liking the grove this music was putting me in, it's made to move to, yea this song grooved! Seduction the 5th song was the first with vocals, It had a very strong tribal sound, rich, sleek, seductive and alive. Number 6 Ay Mambo was a u-turn from the other music, confused at times, but able to retrace its beat and keep you going and going and going.
At 7 we find My Beloved a trance like song with a darker core that was easy to work with. No One But You the 8th song had a carnival sound at first but soon took on a strong beat with a female vocal, very nice. The 9th song What Not Things Seem Are They mixed things up to the point the songs title was evident in the work. Mediterranean Blue the 10th song was one of my favorite songs, fast paced with powerful beat that kept you moving in rhythm to the music. The spanish strings was a hook on this song. The last song #10 And Finally made this cd a notch in the modern dance market, I could hear this cd being played in exotic clubs.
~Dark, Bill Messick
dark@newartistradio.net
- Bill Messick, New Artist Radio
Falik: Middle-Eastern infused poptronica
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/falik-elvolution/
Charlie and Cheryl Pecot (who perform under the name Falik) show an ever deepening mastery of a dazzling world pop sound on their brand new release, Elvolution, a work that seamlessly melds influences from Bowie to belly dancing to the Irish bouzouki. The first track, "Electric Butterfly" is a surprisingly perfect blend of surf rock and traditional Middle Eastern music, while other tracks bring in glimmers of everything from disco to techno to classical Spanish guitar, but always maintain a stately pop grace and the exacting proportions of rhythm and melody for which they are known. A gorgeous, mostly instrumental album with some hauntingly lovely vocals woven throughout.
- Magntune.com
Discography
"Falik's Revenge" 2008, "Elvolution" 2006, "Dreams from the Machine" 2005, "The Ballad of el Efe" 2005, "Streaks and Strokes" 2003
All tracks can be streamed from http://falikshow.com
Photos
Bio
There was a period of time when the Irish bouzouki, or at least the cheapo electric guitar version of it, was heard on practically every pop hit. But disregarding this curious part of pop history, the creation of any kind of hybrid of American and Middle Eastern music has happened mostly in the Middle East, not in America. Something of a minor hit for an independent album when it was first released, "Streaks and Strokes" is one of the few breakthroughs that happened on the American continent, courtesy of a talented and charming gent whose connection to the aforementioned Middle Eastern pop influence was non-existent. The multi-tracking and arrangements that Falik so meticulously created on this set of instrumentals are almost as much of a marvel as his exciting, technically stunning Irish bouzouki work. All the same there is something quaint about these accompaniments, although that is part of the charm, like the British style of serving chips at a curry house. One unforgettable image of Falik over the years was a private demonstration he provided for a Riverside, CA host while performing at Babylon's. Seated on a stool in the midst of an empty restaurant, Falik played rapid-fire Irish bouzouki licks over the top of what sounded like a full-band backing, all coming out of a laptop computer at his side. He seems to be one of those multi-trackers that spends forever working on pieces and sometimes never stops tinkering, which might explain why he only completed four volumes of music such as this when there is clearly a demand for more. In that sense the success of this album is also a nice part of the home-recording scene, Falik establishing an early mastery of the type of new recording technology that would move many artists out of the realm of the recording studio for good. In addition, the strength that indie labels had in the '00s was also one of the reasons that a record such as this, at first released on the artist's own Magic Lantern label, and now on Magnatune.com, eventually would pick up something of a global following, including the popularity of the "Djini Dance" track at the hippest haflas. Sifting through all these positives, a listener can be an alchemist and attempt to isolate the gold or single element that makes this project work so well. The inevitable answer is Falik himself -- beyond the instrumental virtuosity, his joy with what he is doing comes across as a specific within the general sense of his exuberant personality.
Links
