The sonic experience of shared culture is so profoundly simple, it sometimes escapes our conscious discernment of what constitutes our identities and connections to greater communities. YERAZ [Past, Present And Future Armenian Sounds From Los Angeles to Yerevan] explores and deepens the understanding of music across the global Armenian diaspora in its compilation of ten reflective, meditative, and transcendental songs from various genres, including electronica, ambient, and instrumental.

YERAZ, which means “dream” in Armenian, is a collaboration that was born out of a friendship between Zach Asdourian, the Chief A&R of creative label Critique, and Karine Eurdekian, the Founder and Director of Kooyrigs, a non-profit organization which provides transparent aid to the Armenian homeland and elevates issues of importance to the diasporan community. The two began messaging over social media at the start of the 2020 Artsakh War, and found that they had the power to project Armenian creativity to larger audiences via technology and grassroots content. This culminated in a record that showcases the beauty of Armenian culture, while also promoting solidarity through a musical exchange with the rest of the world.

“A main objective behind YERAZ is to set a new precedent for Armenian identity by illustrating it through a variety of musical contexts,” shared Asdourian. “I wanted this compilation to be more than another vinyl record – I wanted it to be an immutable object of our culture that reflects the depth of our people’s history and vectors us from current tragedies into a brighter future. YERAZ functions as a window looking into this world where a new Armenian identity is being nurtured.”

Critique is donating 100% of its net profits from the sales of YERAZ to Kooyrigs, making this record not only a work of art, reflection, and commemoration, but also one of action.

*Stamps for each side of the vinyl records.*

“Kooyrigs’ ultimate goal is to connect Armenians and create tangible impact,” Eurdekian noted. “YERAZ does just that. As an Armenian youth, I have always felt an innate responsibility to elevate and preserve our culture, especially considering the fact that Armenians continuously exist in a state of existential crisis. In making YERAZ happen, we focused on preserving the traditional sounds played by our ancestors and elevating Armenia’s bolstering electronic scene, while simultaneously fundraising for critical human rights. Yes,YERAZ sounds beautiful, but it also carries great power in providing aid to Armenian people who were so brutally targeted by a mass of war crimes and destruction (in the midst of a pandemic, nonetheless).”

Asdourian and Eurdekian, both diasporans whose families have ardently maintained various cultural traditions throughout several generations outside of the homeland, especially in the realm of sound and music, curated the roster of artists featured on YERAZ from pioneering musicians both in Yerevan and abroad. The record is beautifully brought to life through the artwork of Natalee Miller, an illustrator and designer of Armenian descent hailing from the East Coast.

Miller actually produced the artwork for YERAZ prior to the project, and serendipitously, was heavily inspired by theremin artist Armen Ra — who ended up being one of the ten musical artists featured in the compilation. Miller commented, “the opportunity to use art as a means to connect and contribute to something to this project was such an honor. The circumstances [of the war] are horrific, but YERAZ is a testament to survival, beauty, and resilience.”

The compilation kicks off with “Sky” from Emil Abramyan, a Brooklyn-based composer, musician, and producer. The track showcases Abramyan’s classical training as a cellist, melding it with electronica to create a unique number. It then delves into “Port Sayid” by Bei Ru, a Los Angeles-based producer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist.

“Port Sayid” not only portrays Bei Ru’s fluidity as an artist across various genres, namely soul, funk, house, and electronic music, but it also exemplifies the status of Armenians at the intersection of so many different cultures, peoples, and sounds. It does this through a mixture of oud, played by Antranig Kzirian, cello performed by Artyom Manukyan, piano played by Mesrop Sarkisyan, and Orbel Babayan on guitar.

“‘Port Sayid’ started off as a drum beat I sequenced and recorded and then played a bassline on top of, while adding subtle elements of various sounds here and there,” shared Bei Ru. “I think it really came to life after the live instrumentation was added. The musicians that played on it are all friends of mine who I’ve collaborated with numerous times, as well as being some of my absolute favorite instrumentalists. They come from various musical backgrounds, ranging from jazz, to classical, rock, and Middle Eastern music, which adds a certain depth to their style of playing — resulting in something completely unique and special.”

The artist also mentioned that the tile of “Port Sayid” is in reference to an Egyptian port that Armenian Genocide survivors were taken to as refugees after fighting off the Ottoman army for over forty days and being rescued by a French warship. This group of survivors was from small villages in present-day Turkey, collectively known as Musa Ler, and a vast majority of them and their descendants ended up in Anjar, Lebanon — where Bei Ru’s parents are from.

The record then migrates into “Suspended In Time, By The Sea” by Lara Sarkissian, a sound artist, electronic composer, radio DJ, and filmmaker from San Francisco. The brilliant beat even samples from an Armenian cartoon from 1986 called “Արծագանք.” The track features a sound reminiscent of one produced by a rainstick that, in the context of the record, reminds me of incense burning in thuribles during Armenian church services.

In a liturgical realm, the record features theremin virtuoso Armen Ra’s rendition of Komitas with “Crane.” The hauntingly beautiful track, which was originally released on Plays the Theremin (2010), highlights Armen Ra’s sheer artistry as one of the world’s finest thereminists, while also nodding towards Komitas, who is heralded as one of the greatest composers in all of Armenian history.

Speaking on the chillingly elegant number, Armen Ra shared, “as a diasporan Armenian, and having been raised by musicians, Komitas was always prevalent in our household. I’m glad that the producers of YERAZ chose ‘Crane’ because it echoes the pain of the Genocide of 1915. The fact that we are facing massacre and loss of land yet again makes it a poignant piece to include.”

YERAZ then leads into its second half with “Three Duduks” by the Los Angeles-based Deradoorian, featuring the hallmark Armenian instrument that is often revered for being indicative of our somber, yet resilient, history. Nearly a thirteen-minute long track, “Three Duduks” allows for a commemorative and reflective pause before the album picks its tempo back up with “Masiv Calling” by KamavoSian. The Yerevan-based artist employs a high-energy, underground 90s rave beat, and rather than looking towards the past, is perhaps a statement on the strong, bright, and persevering future.

The next song is a whimsical, dreamy lo-fi number by Melineh, a psychedelic artist based between Yerevan and Beirut. Her “Antsi Antsnem” features Armenian dialogue, an almost playful tone, and a trance-like electronica beat featuring Middle Eastern-inspired percussions. YERAZ keeps the tempo going with Serjo’s “Love Delivery,” a jazzy, funky dance number with a retro electronic sound. The producer’s deep house track is yet another example of Yerevan’s burgeoning electronic music scene, providing a particularly seasoned, unique twist on a tried-and-true genre.

The album slows down its pace with “Arevmutq” by D.Zúk, a dreamy track which features elements of hip-hop and lo-fi instrumentals. The overall vibe and sound reminds me a bit of one of my favorite Armenian cartoons, “Gtnvatz Yeraz (Found Dream)” by the Dilakian Brothers.

The dream comes to a close as YERAZ concludes with “Sonic Meditation” by Los Angeles-based musician, visual artist, and writer Taleen Kali. The meditational track offers a moment of peace and clarity to close out the compilation and create the space necessary to usher in hope for the future. Kali, who frequently employs sound meditation in her practice as an artist, said that she “wanted to offer a moment of transcendental reflection in order to allow the listener to absorb the journey they’ve taken through the album experience. Sound healing has been such a pivotal part of how I’ve survived the grief of this [COVID-19] pandemic and the atrocities in Artsakh, and I wanted to share its healing potential with the YERAZ community.”

Indeed, YERAZ is a sonic, emotional, and reflective experience, and each and every song carries with it a past, a present, and a future through sounds, vibrations, and frequencies that affect each listener uniquely, yet connectedly. Eurdekian mentioned that her greatest hope for this album is for it to serve “as a moment of rest for my people, and a sociopolitical awakening for all others unaware of Armenia’s modern-day struggle for survival.” Throughout its presentation of these varied, yet intricately cohesive, artists and sounds, YERAZ is set to do just that.

I’d like to thank Zach Asdourian, Karine Eurdekian, and all of the aforementioned artists for sharing their thoughts and experiences regarding the conception, creation, and execution of YERAZ. Be sure to order a copy of the vinyl through Bandcamp, and follow Kooyrigs and Critique on Instagram to stay up-to-date with their newest developments.