Armenian rock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rock'n'roll, as a musical genre, originated in the United States and was adopted and developed through the efforts of musicians from various ethnicities and countries, Armenia being one. Rock was greatly restricted for most of the period Armenia was under Soviet rule, being viewed as a Western anti-socialist influence. Yet, by the early 1970s, there were a range of popular bands in the capital city of Yerevan strong enough to compete with their Soviet counterparts. Among the most recognized groups of this era were Arthur Meschian's "Arakyalner", "1+2", "Kaleidoscope", and "Bliki". Following the loosening of state control in the early 1980s, a number of Armenian rock bands gained a following in Western Europe, such as "Asparez" and Ayas. "Asparez" was the only Armenian rock act to release an LP on the iconic Soviet label Melodiya. The bands "Tarerk", "Thessilk" and "Maximum" had strong followings at home.
In 1982 a band from Leninakan called Bambir won the Folk Music Award at the International Festival in Lida, Belarus. They combined rock with Armenian folk and classical music. In 1986 the Vostan Hayots, a popular folk-rock band, was founded in Yerevan.
As the Soviet rock scene grew larger in the late 1980s, bands like Asparez and Ayas found international audiences due to the new popularity of oriental rock. Ayas formed in 1986, and a year later won Best song of the year award at Yerevan's Rock, Rock, Rock Festival. Later they won the Sisian Rock Festival award as well.
On May 5, 1986, a first-of-its-kind Rock Festival was organized at the Youth Palace night club in Yerevan. The following year a second Rock Festival was held on October 18 and 19 at the Velotrack in Yerevan, Armenia.
In the early 1990s, an Armenian progressive rock scene developed. Dumbarton Oaks was one of the first bands to combine rock with classical music, in compositions like "Once Upon a Time There Lived a Cadence". The psychodelic side of prog-rock was represented in the much heavier works of MDP, Artsruni, and Oaksenham[1]. These two bands subsequently released their albums with the leading French label, Musea [1]. Other popular Armenian rock bands of this era included Breez, Ambehr [2], The Kings' Cross, Alter Ego, Lav Eli and Empyray. Former "Lav Eli" frontman Gor Mkhitarian [3] is currently involved with the folk rock scene in the USA regularly releasing his albums there.
In the late 1990s and early 2000's, festivals organized by the ACCEA (Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art) signaled a rebirth of the Armenian rock music scene, with many new bands and musicians coming from the heartland region of Vanadzor. Among the most popular bands at that time there were "Vostan Hayots", "Angels", and punkrockers "Ass Kissers". There was a splash of interest in very heavy acts such as "Beerdigungs Läuten" playing quality grindcore metal.
Expatriate Armenian rock musicians in the US during this period were few, with fewer venues for them to perform. Tigran Mousoian, president of The Armenian Musicians & Artists Center, who had organized two festivals in Yerevan, decided to organize an Armenian Rock Festival in Glendale, California. System of a Down - an alternative metal band made-up of Armenian-Americans - was the headline attraction. Armenian acts "SARD" from Yerevan and "Bambir 2" from Gyumri also appeared.
Although the audience in Armenia remains exceedingly small for local rock groups, "SARD", "Bambir 2" and recently, "Vordan Karmir", "Reincarnation" and speed-metal bandAramazd have received media attention, especially after their videos were televised nationally. "Roxygeen" is heading the scene of cover-bands, while STRYFE and Sworn are prog-metal bands.
The revived MDP and Oaksenham in addition to "Bambir 2", Blood Covenant, STRYFE, Sworn and Empyray today lead the vangard of quality made native rock. In 2007, two "Rock-and-Dram" festivals were held, on April 13 and November 23. In September of the same year Rock4Peace festival concerts organized with participation of Germans from Kultur Aktiv e.V. and Vibrographus Studio were held in Yerevan, Gyumri and Stepanakert. Reunion of Ayas took place after the meeting of the band's core musicians in Moscow, whilst Vostan Hayots continue irregularly appear with club concerts in Yerevan. Armenian rock lives now another wave of revival and yet rock is not really commercial in Armenia so far.
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