PE-KO Records

Music lovers wouldn’t normally think of going crate-digging for old vinyl records in a quiet, residential area. And yet, on a tranquil street across from a popular Armenian bakery, an unassuming corner store houses the legendary PE-KO Records. From 1976 to 2010, the Montreal-based label produced the music of Adiss Harmandian, Harout Pamboukjian, Paul Baghdadlian, and over 500 records by beloved Armenian singers and musicians.

Sun-bleached posters of Armenian concerts greet you as you enter the shop. The place is maze-like, its aisles brimming with tchotchkes, junk food for local school kids, and stacks of Greek, Armenian and Arabic CDs and cassettes. Selections range from classics such as Fairouz to more obscure artists, musical ensembles, and mixtapes. Tens of thousands more albums are stored in the backroom and basement.

The man behind the operation is Krikor “Koko” Bahlawanian. The son of two genocide orphans, Koko grew up in Eshafeya, Beirut, and moved to Montreal in 1970. That same year, his son Peter was born, and the PE-KO name serves as a tribute to the bond between the two. The seeds of PE-KO were sown when Koko observed his neighbour, who owned two records by Harout and Levon Katerjian, transfer the music onto 8-tracks to sell to friends. Koko, who would periodically travel back to Lebanon, saw an opportunity. He started bringing back Armenian records from his travels, purchasing the publishing rights from the musicians, and manufacturing releases for domestic sale. What started off as a way to make sure Armenians in the Diaspora could have access to Armenian music from back home quickly grew into a full-blown record label, pressing records and working with an Armenian-run print shop. While still making a living as a mechanical engineer at the Lipton Tea factory (a position he would hold for 35 years), Koko ran his music operation from various locations until settling into his present shop, where he has sold music and movies, produced concerts, and promoted tours for the last 40 years.

Even in its heyday, PE-KO Records wasn’t wildly lucrative. Koko’s main objective was to bring people together. While there was worldwide demand for its records within various Armenian communities, the label’s viability relied on the sale of Arabic records, which outsold Armenian releases 50 to 1.

PE-KO has only digitized 10% of their catalog for streaming platforms, but has seen a significant rise in demand for physical media, particularly since the 2020 war in Artsakh. In response, the label has resumed the production of vinyl records, and in the last three years has released pressings of Harout Pamboukjian Vol. 10, Paul Baghdadlian’s Sev Acher and Karnig Sarkissian’s Lisbon Five. With the threat of erasure more prominent than ever for Armenians, protecting Armenian culture and music has always been a priority for PE-KO.

Koko credits Lebanon as the source of his business-savvy and ambition. His son Peter inherited this knack for entrepreneurship. Now based in California, he is a filmmaker, music producer, and owner of Spice Station, which sells quality spices online and wholesale. He recently produced the entertainment portion of the 48th Navasartian Festival as well as Echoes of our Ancestors at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Father and son speak every day.

Despite having turned 80 this year, Koko shows no sign of slowing down. He continues to operate his shop seven days a week, welcoming all visitors who come through its doors. Some are avid collectors seeking first edition pressings of classic albums; some are savvy music nerds who have discovered a niche market and seek out these coveted records to resell online for a tidy profit. To many others, though, Koko’s records are invaluable in a different way: they serve as a reminder of the golden age of Armenian popular music.