Pianist/composer/improviser of Armenian descent, born in the Soviet Union, raised in Russia, influenced by American and British alternative rock and indie music.
Works with both well-tuned and broken instruments. Besides his solo career is a pianist to Fapfapfap (a post-jazz band in Tbilisi, GE), FAB1 (improvisational duo in Saint Petersburg), and R for Rehab (a live free improv piano+electronics project with a goal to revive old substandard pianos).
Takes part in developing improvisation scene in Russia, Belarus and Georgia with own goal to sneak between genres. Advocates pop/rock and electronic music patterns in piano works and improvisations.
“One composer said, that, unlike writers who, in the very beginning of their work, face a blank page, composers deal with a page black with notes ever written. A composer's duty is to clean that page and leave only notes of his new music.
My goal is to leave notes that would balance between academic and popular music traditions.
In the twentieth century, starting from WWI, the human kind got disappointed in the Idea of Progress, so the art turned to uncomfortable, terrorising shapes, and only progressed in that direction after WWII. At the same time, popular music arose to comfort the human being; so the art divided into two opposite states. In this regard, we have got academic music still interesting intellectually and touching, though we can't remember and sing its pieces (it is that far from a human comprehension) and popular music that continuously repeats itself, which pieces get dated within the next few weeks. I want my works to be recognisable, I want people to sing my melodies, at least, some of them. And yet, I stay away from what I myself would call stupid music. Because simple does not mean stupid.”
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