Marjeta "Neca" Falk (born 19 June 1950) is a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n and Yugoslav

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, art photographer and

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

. Best known for her musical career, Falk was a prominent act of the

Yugoslav rock scene Popular music in Yugoslavia includes the pop and rock music of the former SFR Yugoslavia, including all their genres and subgenres. The scene included the constituent republics: SR Slovenia, SR Croatia, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Montenegr ...

. Falk started her musical career in late 1960s, simultaneously performing chansons on Yugoslav pop festivals and performing as frontress of several rock bands. She released her debut album ''Danes'' in 1977. With her second album, the 1978 ''Vsi ljudje hitijo'', she moved towards

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

sound. With the albums ''Najjači ostaju'' (1980) and ''Nervozna'' (1981) Falk, recognizable for her long

ginger hair Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive alle ...

, established herself as one of the most popular female vocalists of the Yugoslav rock scene. In mid-1980s, she turned towards

children's music Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...

, releasing several albums with children's songs, returning to her pop and rock roots with her 1993 album ''Neca Falk''. A graduate from the Maribor Faculty of Arts, Falk has exhibited her paintings and photographs, acted in several theatre plays and directed several short films.

Biography

Musical career

Falk started her musical career at the age of 19, performing at the 1969

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Youth Festival held in

Tivoli Hall Tivoli Hall () is a complex of two multi-purpose indoor sports arenas in the Tivoli City Park in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The complex was opened in 1965. The larger, ice hockey arena has a seating capacity of 6,800 people and is the ho ...

. In the early 1970s, she was the vocalist for the bands Boemi (''The Bohemians'') and Rdeči Dečki (''The Red Boys''). In 1971, Falk and former Bele Vrane member Bor Gostiša performed the duet "Mi smo mi" ("We Are Us") on Maribor festival Vesela jesen '71. (''Merry Autumn of '71''). The song was released on a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

, which was Falk's discographyc debut. Since 1972, she appeared regularly on the Slovenska popevka (''Slovenian Song'') festival of popular music, held in Ljubljana and

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

. In 1973, with singer Alfi Nipič she recorded duets "Ljubim te, kličem te" ("I Love You, I'm Calling You") and "Kako si sva različna" ("How Different You Are"), released on a 7-inch single. During the same year, she starred in the 45-minute

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

''Dekle iz šestega nadstropja'' (''The Girl from the Sixth Floor'') shot by TV Ljubljana. In 1975, she debuted at

Opatija Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...

Festival, and a year later she debuted in theatre, acting in

Ljubljana Drama Theatre The Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Drama (, ), or the Slovene National Theatre Drama in Ljubljana, is the national theatre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, best known for its conservative repertoire, including classical European dramatic texts and sel ...

's production of

John Arden John Arden (26 October 1930 – 28 March 2012) was an English playwright who at his death was lauded as "one of the most significant British playwrights of the late 1950s and early 60s". Career Born in Barnsley, son of the manager of a glass ...

's ''Live Like Pigs''. The production featured music composed by Dečo Žgur and performed by Yugoslav

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

band

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

. In 1977, Falk released her debut album ''Danes'' (''Today'') through Helidon record label. The album featured songs authored by

Bojan Adamič Bojan Adamič a.k.a. Master (; 9 August 1912 – 3 November 1995), Slovene Partisans nom de guerre Gregor, was a well-known Slovene composer of jazz, the Slovenian song festival music, and particularly film scores. He was also an avid photograph ...

, Jani Golob and Dečo Žgur. With her second album, entitled ''Vsi ljudje hitijo'' (''All People Hurry''), released in 1978 through

ZKP RTLJ Založba kaset in plošč RTV Ljubljana or Založba kaset in plošč Radiotelevizije Ljubljana (acronym ZKP RTLJ, meaning ''Publishing and Record Label RTV Ljubljana'' in Slovene), was a major record label in the former SFR Yugoslavia, based Lj ...

, she moved towards mainstream rock sound. The album songs were authored by

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

s Andrej Šifrer and

Tomaž Domicelj Tomaž is the Slovene form of the male given name Thomas. People Bearers of these names include: * Tomaž Barada, Slovenian martial artist * Tomaž Čižman (born 1965), Slovenian alpine skier * Tomaž Humar (born 1969), Slovenian mountaineer * To ...

. The album included a cover of the

traditional song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has been ...

Banks of the Ohio "Banks of the Ohio" (Roud 157, Laws F5), also known as "Down on the Banks of the Ohio" and "I'll Never Be Yours", is a 19th-century murder ballad, written by unknown authors. The lyrics tell of "Willie" who invites his young lover for a walk during ...

", entitled "Dravski most" ("Bridge on

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

"), and the song "Zaspao si u mojoj kosi" ("You Fell Asleep in My Hair"), recorded with

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band Atomsko Sklonište. The members of Atomsko Sklonište had previously collaborated with Falk's husband, photographer Tone Stojko. In 1980, Falk released well-received album ''Najjači ostaju'' (''The Strongest Survive''). The album was produced by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

producers Dave Cook and Anthony David, and featured songs authored by Cook, Andrej Šifrer, Tomaž Domicelj and the members of Atomsko Sklonište. The album included a cover of

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

's song "

Both Sides, Now "Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. One of the first recordings is by Judy Collins, whose version appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. (The earliest commercial release was by Dave Van Ro ...

" entitled "Z več plati" ("With Many Sides"). In 1980, Falk won the Audience Award at Slovenska popevka festival for her performance of the song "Storila bom to" ("I Will Do That"). At the time, Falk frequently performed with the jazz rock band Predmestje, and in 1981, she recorded the single "Neću" with the group. Following the single release, she released her fourth studio album ''Nervozna'' (''Nervous''). The album was recorded with British studio musicians and co-produced by Dave Cook and Chris Burkett. The album brought the hit "Banane" ("Bananas"), wirtten by Tomaž Domicelj. The song "Živiš jeftine romane" ("You're Living like in Pulp Novels") featured a part spoken by

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

radio DJ Marko Janković. Simultaneously with ''Nervozna'', Falk released the

album ''Zlata lađa'' (''Golden Ship'').''Zlata lađa'' at Discogs
/ref> The album featured music composed by Jerko Novak and lyrics written by

Kajetan Kovič Kajetan Kovič (21 October 1931 – 7 November 2014) was a Slovene poet, writer, translator, and journalist. In 1978, he received the Prešeren Award, the highest artistic award in Slovenia, for his poetry collection ''Labrador.'' Life Kovič ...

. In the mid-1980s, Falk turned towards

, releasing the albums ''Pika poka'' (1985), featuring music composed by Andrej Pompe and lyrics written by Lily Novi, ''Maček Muri in Muca Maca'' (''Muri the Cat and Pussy Cat'', 1985), with music by Jerko Novak and lyrics by

, ''Zdravilo za strah'' (''A Cure for Fear'', 1987), with music composed by Jerko Novak and lyrics written by Boris Novak, and ''Mačji sejem'' (''Cat Fair'', 1992), featuring music by Jerko Novak and lyrics by Kovič. Falk's 1993 album ''Neca Falk'' featured new versions of her songs from late 1970s and early 1980s. Her 1996 album ''Portreti'' (''Portraits'') featured acoustic pop songs with lyrics written by Falk herself. On her following album, ''Življenja krog'' (''The Circle of Life''), released in 2000, Falk presented herself as composer of acoustic songs dominated by

bowed string instrument Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow (music), bow rubbing the string (music), strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound. Despite the numerous spe ...

s. Most of the album lyrics were written by Kajetan Kovič, with the title track being a

Slovene language Slovene ( or ) or Slovenian ( ; ) is a South Slavic languages, South Slavic language of the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. Most of its 2.5 million speakers are the ...

cover of Joni Mitchell's " The Circle Game". During the same year, the compilation album entitled ''Najjači ostaju'' was released, featuring songs from Falk's second and third studio album and the single version of "Zaspao si u mojoj kosi". In 2001, she recorded the album ''Neca Falk v teatru'' (''Neca Falk in Theatre''), featuring songs from the theatre plays in which she had appeared – ''Live Like Pigs'', ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'', ''Marathon'', ''Stench Opera'' and ''In The Slovenian Mountains''. In 2014, Falk released her latest studio album ''Od daleč'' (''From Afar''). The album featured acoustic songs, composed by Boštjan Narat of the band Katalena. The album recording featured Narat (guitar), Žika Golob (

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

), Danilo Ženko (keyboards) and Boštjan Gombač (

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

Other activities

Falk acted in several theatre plays: ''Live Like Pigs'', ''

'', ''Marathon'', ''Stench Opera'' and ''In The Slovenian Mountains''. She graduated from Maribor Faculty of Arts. Several covers of her albums featured her paintings and

aquarelle Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

s. Falk also had a number of exhibits of her photographs, and in 1987 published a book of photographs entitled ''Fotografije / Photographs''. She has directed several short films.

Legacy

In 1998, the album ''Najjači ostaju'' was polled as 59th on the list of 100 Greatest Yugoslav Popular Music Albums in the book '' YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike'' (''YU 100: The Best Albums of Yugoslav Pop and Rock Music''). In 2000, Slovenian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist Primož Grašić recorded his versions of Falk's songs from her albums ''Portreti'' and ''Življenja krog'' for his album ''Tihožitja'' (''Still Lifes''). In 2008, Slovenian singer Alenka Godec recorded a cover of "Vsi ljudje hitijo" for her album ''So najlepše pesmi že napisane'' (''The Most Beautiful Songs Have Already Been Written'').

Discography

Studio albums

*''Danes'' (1977) *''Vsi ljudje hitijo'' (1978) *''Najjači ostaju'' (1980) *''Nervozna'' (1981) *''Zlata lađa'' (1981) *''Pika poka'' (1985) *''Maček Muri in Muca Maca'' (1985) *''Zdravilo za strah'' (1987) *''Mačji sejem'' (1992) *''Neca Falk'' (1993) *''Portreti'' (1996) *''Življenja krog'' (2000) *''Neca Falk v teatru'' (2001) *''Od daleč'' (2014)

Compilation albums

*''Mačje mesto'' (1992) *''Dravski most'' (1994) *''Vsi ljudje hitijo'' (2009)

Singles

*"Živeja je en coprjak" / "Mož naj bo doma" (1972) *"Sama fanta našla si bom" / "Vzemi me" (1973) *"Ljubim te, kličem te / "Kako si sva različna" (With Alfi Nipič; 1974) *"Dobro jutro, dober dan" / "Balada" (1978) *"Vsi ljudje hitijo" / "Tako dekle" (1978) *"Zaspao si u mojoj kosi" / "Tvoje su oči pune rose" (1978) *"Toliko vrediš koliko daš" / "Samo najjači ostaju" (1980) *"Neću" / "Formula 1" (1981) *"Banane" / "Živiš jeftine romane" (1981)

Bibliography

*''Fotografije / Photographs'' (1987)

Filmography

Short films

References

External links

Neca Falk
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falk, Neca 1950 births Living people Slovenian pop singers Slovenian women pop singers Slovenian singer-songwriters Slovenian women singer-songwriters 20th-century Slovenian women singers 21st-century Slovenian women singers Yugoslav rock singers Yugoslav women singers Musicians from Maribor