Pete Falloon is a multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter based in Exmouth, Devon, UK. Having played in several West Country acts and the cult duo with his brother Matthew, Brothers Falloon, Pete is gearing up to release his debut solo long player, Reed In The River, in Winter 2016.
On the subject of the influence of the spectacular, idyllic beauty of Pete’s home environment of the West Country in his music, he says that “the music is definitely influenced by my love for the natural environment, and inspired by living in Devon – the moors, coast, countryside, rivers and skies here are something very special”. This is reflected in the lead track Reasons, a beautiful folk pop number, which has a vibrant, narrative lyricism running through the instrumentation that invokes a pastoral nostalgia and reflects Pete’s love of the simplicity of nature, and the inner peace and contentment that it brings. The track will be released soon as a limited free download from his bandcamp page.
Similarly to the self-styled Paisley Overground movement, based around a compilation released by At The Helm Records and featuring lead artists of the movement such as Co-pilgrim and The Dreaming Spires, Pete draws a line through many of the classic folk/pop acts of the psychedelic era such as Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds and James Taylor, to modern greats such as R.E.M. and even the more lyrical works of The Stone Roses. More recently, Pete has been greatly inspired by Canadian Americana band The Barr Brothers.
Reed In The River is a more or less a chronological set of intertwining semi-biographical life stories and reflections. Opener Runaway Now, written in a Rio hotel, is about travel, displacement and the disorientation of threshold decisions, and is driven by shuffling break beats and edgy guitars. The haunting ballad Canada in the Fall continues the travel theme, following the sorrow and calm of relationship breakdown, during an autumn week spent in Ottawa and Quebec, with delicate mandolin and guitar arrangements and lush vocal harmonies. The album also features many notable literary as well as musical references, Soft Falling Rain was directly inspired by Salman Rushdie’s The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
The album was produced by Pete’s brother Matthew Falloon, mixed by Tim Wills (Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds/The Cure) and mastered by Pete Maher (Patti Smith/Jack White). Reed In The River was recorded over three four-day sessions at the vintage-equipped, hit factory Vale Studios in Gloucestershire. The band included Pete Falloon on acoustic/electric guitars and mandolin, Matthew Falloon on bass/guitar/mandolin/wurlitzer and Paul Everest on drums/percussion.
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