Alek Barkats is a singer-songwriter, pianist, and multi instrumentalist living in Oakland, CA. After years of playing piano in the instrumental, jazz-rock ensemble Cheap Charms, he released his debut album, Dinosaur, in 2019. Recorded by Barkats in his living room and bedroom, Dinosaur is a cinematic, folk rock album that beams with old-timey piano, soaring guitars, and orchestral string, woodwind, and horn arrangements. The album features contributions from Cheap Charms band-members Artur Friedhoff, Jeremy Cox, and Benjamin Hartman (Old Time Relijun), as well as Emmett Moskowitz (Froogy’s Groovies), David Mandle (Moral High Horses), and Barkats’ partner, Tacie Moskowitz.
“There are ethereal moods leading to quirky moments that seem like a smorgasbord of sound, literally. Barkats music seems to me to be a hybrid of Tom Waits, They Might Be Giants and a circus.”
