Robert Falk
Robert Falk writes: "I was born in Paris, but if I am French, I am not of French origin. My father is German, and my mother is Belgian. This eclectic background may be already a reflection of my eclectic musical tastes. For professional reasons the family moved to Brussels when I was 10, and I still live presently in this city, one of the most multicultural of Europe.
"I started to get interested in music when I was 14 and I bought my first guitar at the age of 15. At this time I was mostly interested in folk music, especially the protest songs of the U.S.A. In order to understand the meaning of the lyrics, I learned English as fast as possible. I also liked country blues as well as traditional music from Latin America or Eastern Europe.
"I started very quickly to write songs and to play with school friends in various groups. I have still some recordings left of that time but their sentimental value far exceeds their musical value.
"Later my musical tastes got more diverse. I started playing electric guitar and keyboards. I loved the head-rock (or symphonic rock) period from the early '70s, then the jazz-rock explosion that followed.
"At this time I also first stopped singing then writing songs. As from 1979 I have only composed instrumental music.
"I played a lot of jazz-rock with two consecutive bands between 1979 and 1986 (Spring and Falklands). This led me to know the Belgian jazz scene, the nicest musical scene I know so far.
"I got acquainted with computer-music at its beginning in 1986. The software of that time were very user-unfriendly: Everything had to be written note per note, and the only way to humanize a bit the result was to play with the length of the notes by adding or subtracting 1/128 notes. I acquired then a solid experience as contemporary monk and a sound hatred for quantizing.
"Since 2004 I have chosen to concentrate my efforts and my financial resources on self-production of my own compositions. Some of these are quite old (the oldest dates from 1985), but have been enhanced over the years as my musical experiences have expanded. The first set of tracks are regrouped on the Muzungu CD, which is simultaneously being released in the classical and downloadable way."
— Courtesy Calabash Music
