When speaking to Tigran Hamasyan about his latest musical voyage, it quickly becomes clear that The Bird of a Thousand Voices is more than a conceptual double album, it is an eye-opening manifesto marking a momentous stage in the 37-year-old’s career. This impressive project entails not only 90 minutes of adventurous music, but also a two-part feature film, a documentary, an interactive computer game and a transmedia stage show created in collaboration with Dutch director Ruben Van Leer. “Ruben and I started working together on a couple of my music videos in 2012 and since then, we’ve always wanted to do something bigger, something huge.” Hamasyan recalls: “So when I started writing the music for this album, I phoned Ruben up, told him the whole story, sent him my ideas and we both said: ’This is what we’ve been waiting for. This is it.”

The creative symbiosis between Hamasyan and his esteemed contemporaries is on display in this spectacular performance,which sold out its premier at the Holland Festival 2024. The music from the album is played live, accompanied by an aerial creature spreading its wings in the midst of a captivating light show. Hamasyan’s quintet is also performing the music in a more conventional concert format, spreading the message of the Armenian folktale around the globe. “This story tells me that if we wish to change the world, we will all need to change individually” says Hamasyan, ”I feel it’s time to tell this tale, with its universal message of spiritual awakening” and this is exactly what he has done with this astonishingly pivotal album.

The sonic reverberation of Hamasyan’s native Armenia is breathtakingly present in his music. Through seductively cyclical and seemingly immortal melodies, he fearlessly weaves the threads of mystical folklore into his jazz-infused improvisations and synthesiser-heavy compositions, fuelled by the stamina of progressive rock and heavy metal.

The music conveys the story of Areg, the youngest son of a benevolent king that sends him on a quest to find an anthropomorphic songbird, the only creature that can bring redemption to their kingdom. The prince is confronted by endless deserts, cold mountain winters, turbulent rivers, condemnations, betrayal and forty-headed demons on his journey through black, white and red worlds.

The idea of setting the folktale to music was sparked as Hamasyan was reading a book in which the author, Armenian composer and musicologist Arthur Shahnazaryan, depicts Medieval concepts of musical healing through analysing different versions of The Bird of a Thousand Voices – a tale so ancient that no one really knows when it was first told.

Hamasyan explains his instant fascination for the tale: ”In his book, Arthur talks about how each of the four modes in Armenian music (there are inversions which makes them eight, but essentially there are four) are represented by one of the four elements. Each element corresponds to specific colours which in turn correspond to the vital organs in our body. So depending on what mode and in what inversion and register you play, you can direct the music to heal specific parts of the body. Arthur discovered the connection between this musical healing system and the colours of the different worlds that the hero is passing through on his quest in the story.” Hearing Hamasyan speak so passionately about the philosophical depth of this tale, it is obvious that it needed to be voiced through music, music written by no other than him.

The recognition of music being healing, meditative and spiritual is paramount in Hamasyan’s creative process. ”How come the youngest brother is asked to go on the quest?” Hamasyan asks with a glimmer in his eye, ”His older brothers are stronger, wealthier and more powerful. He just likes to play music and wonder around in the nature…” The question answers itself. ”The hero is not afraid to go after the unseen, something in another world…I like how that connects to improvisation in jazz and the creation of any sort of art” says Hamasyan. It is irresistible not to draw parallels between this open minded pianist and the pure hearted hero of the story in which he has immersed himself. They seem to share a mutual dexterity of receptiveness, curiosity and drive to discover the world without any judgement or greed.

Reading different versions of the folktale was the ultimate catalyst for Hamasyan’s musical mind: ”I wanted to write something similar to an opera, like a libretto. I started thinking about how to tell the story through developing leitmotifs for each character.” The ambience and melodic material of the album was mostly generated through improvising and evolved throughout the recording process, which took place in the spring of 2020. Hamasyan – who was based in Los Angeles at the time – and the American multi-instrumentalist Nate Wood started recording the album together, but were interrupted by the COVID lockdown. ”That was a really intense period.” says Hamasyan thinking back, ”This tale contains profound philosophical and spiritual knowledge that definitely helped me get through these tough times.”

The music on the album is an infusion of different versions of the folktale. The version that became most essential to the project is the one written by the Armenian poet Serine, who first heard the tale in the traditional way, being told by a famous storyteller living in the village where she grew up in the late 1800’s. Serine escaped the genocide of WWI and ended up in Eastern Armenia (what we today know as ‘Armenia’) and she brought her culture and stories with her. ”She was a phenomenal woman, she was a hero.” Hamasyan says, describing the truly remarkable story of Serine’s life, ”She worked in orphanages, helped elderly during WWI and wrote incredible poetry”.

Serine’s version of The Bird of a Thousand Voices was published in the 1960’s and is now being vocalised by the Armenian singer Areni Agbabian, who symbolises two essential characters: the bird in the story and the mother reading it to her children. In her improvisations, Areni compliments the sonority of Hamasyan’s music through ingeniously intertwining the timbre of traditional Armenian repertoire with elements of contemporary experimental music. Ever since they met in 2007, the combined mastery of Hamasyan and Agbabian has been a deep and constantly overflowing well of creativity. ”When I am writing music for a female voice, it is Areni’s voice that I am imagining. She understands my music on another level and is a crucial part of my musical development.”

In the beautifully animated online video game you get to engage with the music and experience the story through illustrator Khoren Matevosyan’s vivid imagination. Hamasyan describes working with his accommodating label Naïve on this project: ”The most important thing for a label is to give space for art and creation to happen. The PR, including the game and the artwork for the album, needs to be part of the creative process”. When asked what his high score is on the game, Hamasyan laughs and says ”really bad”. Tigran Hamasyan might not be about to break any records playing computer games, but there is no doubt he will continue to break boundaries with his musical storytelling.

The post Tigran Hamasyan: new album ‘The Bird of a Thousand Voices’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

UK Jazz News: ’the island’….what island?

Kasper Rietkerk: To me, living in the UK really feels like being on an island. Although it is a very big island, it still feels more isolated than where I am from. When I am going back to the Netherlands, I can’t just drive across the borders like in central Europe, I have to get on a boat, train or plane, go above or underneath the sea and it always feels like a big journey. I moved to the UK in 2021 at a time when the country had just opened up after a lockdown, but the Netherlands was closed down, which made it hard to go back to see my family and friends. I think the pandemic left many of us feeling a bit like we were stuck on a desolated island.

UKJN: How did that feeling of isolation feed into your creative process?

KR: I wrote all the tunes on the album during my first year living here and I wanted the music to capture my time in the UK. When I first moved to London I wasn’t as busy doing gigs, so I spent more time writing music. Many of the tunes I wrote whilst travelling to, from or around the city. That initial feeling of isolation turned out to be a good thing for me.

UKJN: Has your time in the UK been captured in the music? Can you give an example?

KR: The first tune that I wrote for the album was ’Dark Side’. I wrote it in February 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, as a portrait of the unsettling contrasts that occurred; our life here continuing as normal whilst the life of others is being completely destroyed in a country so near to us. Being away from my family during that time left me feeling a sort of loneliness and fear.

In the summer of 2022 – my first summer spent in London – all the parks were dry and brown, killed by the heat wave. Frustrated that not enough is being done to save the environment (although we do know of many solutions), I wrote ’Baiji’ almost like a protest and it got its name from the first dolphin species driven to extinction by human beings. I guess my anger gave a rocky edginess to the tune.

During my master studies in jazz at The Royal Academy I had lessons with Pete Churchill. We worked on the arrangements of the tunes together and he was a great support for me. At one of our lessons Pete explained the difficulties of trying to write a strong arrangement using weak melodic material as a starting point, saying ’you can’t polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter’– meaning: write a good melody! ’Roll it in Glitter’ began with just a melody and I guess I wanted to polish it…

UKJN: What is the story behind your tune ’Ship of Fools’?

KR: ’Ship of Fools’ is an allegory that Plato referred to in one of his Republic books; the idea of a dysfunctional crew steering their ship in the wrong direction symbolising the failing government of a political system. Since I wanted the music on the album to capture my existence here, I had to have a track on there about Brexit because it effects my life in so many ways.

Do you think you’ll remain on ”the island” in the future?

KR: I have extended my visa since graduating. All the people that I’ve met here have been nothing but welcoming and open. I feel very grateful to be part of the scene here, to collaborate with great musicians such as Jean Toussaint and Mark Lockheart and be curating the ’Jazz at the Parakeet’ residency. I am constantly aware of the amount of time I have left here in the UK, but I am hopeful that things will work out and I’m trying to keep an open mind. I would love to explore more of Europe as well.

UKJN: Can you tell us about the sonic components of your music?

KR: I wanted to create a sound world combining acoustic jazz with indie rock. The rhythm section and the two horns – including me on alto saxophone – are joined by a string quartet, sometimes providing tension, sometimes release. Inspired by Cannonball Adderley, Kenny Garrett, Brian Blade and Radiohead, the album features Anatole Muster on accordion (Roll it in Glitter) and Emma Rawicz on tenor saxophone (Ship of Fools) as well as Immy Churchill’s voice glueing it all together.

UKJN: How would you describe the emotional space created by your music?

KR: To me, this music feels like travelling, going towards or away from the island. Listening to music transforms your surroundings and I would like this music to make a long journey a bit more comfortable. Maybe the listener will be sat on the noisy tube or underwater on the Eurostar, perhaps they’ll be transported to the green hills of the British countryside and by the end of the last track, they might find out what ’Happened in Eridge’…

Personnel
KRSIX:  Kasper Rietkerk – alto sax and flute (track 7) 
Max McLeish – trombone
Alex Lockheart – guitar
Benji Bown – piano 
Toby Yapp – double bass 
Jonah Evans – drums 

QUARTET: Ezo Sarici, Emily Harrison violins , Charlie Howells – viola , Cubby Howard – cello 
GUESTS: Immy Churchill – vocals (3, 4, 7 & 8) 
Anatole Muster – accordion (3) 
Emma Rawicz – tenor sax (7) 

The post Kasper Rietkerk: new album ‘the island’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

‘R.one’ was originally supposed to be a playful abbreviation of Erwan Castex’s (b. 1980) first name, but as a graphic designer forgot a dot when making his first gig poster, ‘Rone’ became the alias of the French electronic music producer and composer. Renowned for international hits such as Parade and Bye Bye Macadam, Rone has been in constant pursuit of making innovative, meaningful music and combining it with other artforms. He has collaborated with a broad range of distinguished creatives, such as writer Alain Damasio, photographer Stéphane Couturier and the contemporary dance collective (La)Horde.

Before being acknowledged as a major artist of the French electronic scene, Rone was studying to become a film maker. Following the natural progression of his career, he has composed the score for several critically acclaimed movies and received prestigious awards for his music, including the Cesar award for best film score for both Night Ride (2020) and Paris, 13th District (2021). His ability to build narrative and capture scenery is strikingly evident in his music. Rone’s writing conjures vivid pictures, characters and stories for the listener to interpret and put into the context of their own lives. To the soundtrack of Rone’s musical narrative, reality becomes a meticulously scripted chain of events moving in slow motion.

Initially, the symphony orchestra seemed an untameable beast in the eyes of the self-taught composer, “I felt an inferiority complex in relation to scholarly music,” says Rone. But when joining forces with composer and orchestrator Romain Allender, Rone was persuaded to venture out on the journey of L(oo)ping, commissioned by Auditorium-Orchestre National de Lyon.

Producer Marc Cardonnel ignited the spark after discovering Rone’s inventive sound world and seemingly endless potential for collaboration. ”I kept asking until he finally said yes” says Cardonnel, “Collaborating with an incredible orchestrator, truly enthusiastic about his music, Rone felt ready to accept the invitation. And thus L(oo)ping was premiered in Lyon in 2021.”

On Cardonnel’s recommendation, Bryn Ormrod, Music Programmer of the Barbican Centre in London, went to hear the concert and was, in his own words, “blown away by it”. When asked what drew him to Rone’s music, Ormrod describes how ”the acoustic and electronic elements compliment, accentuate and contrast one another. The arrangements are through-composed, they capture and properly make use of the full potential of the orchestra”, adding with a smile that ”the crowd was just going crazy”. Ormrod instantly knew he wanted to bring the L(oo)ping experience to London, the performance at the Barbican will be its UK premiere as well as Rone’s first major concert in the UK.

Conducted by Robert Ames, London Contemporary Orchestra are excitedly welcoming the challenges of L(oo)ping as part of their close affiliation with The Barbican. Ames refers to the relationship between the orchestra and the electronics as a “perfectly balanced blend of the two sound worlds”, coming together with equal strength and beauty to tell the story of Rone’s compositions. The LCO are indeed merging into one with Rone’s dazzling acrobatics through Romain Allender’s cinematic arrangements. With around fifty film scores credited to him, including Grand Budapest Hotel and Shape of Water, Allender has brought new colour and life into Rone’s compositions. Reflecting on the experience of having the orchestra playing his music originally composed for smaller ensembles, Rone says ”I have the strange and rather pleasant sensation of taking a step back from my work and rediscovering my compositions, taking them further, elsewhere… And that’s exciting for me.”

Like so many contemporary artists, Rone has in recent years centered his work around crucial issues such as climate change, social challenges and global collapse. Talking about his opus Room with a View, created in collaboration with the (La)Horde dance collective, he explains that he was ”trying to tackle these themes through music and dance, because every artist has through their work, an incredible tool for raising awareness among his audience.” When asked what the story is behind his most recent project L(oo)ping, Rone says that “there are no particular messages, it’s all about emotions. The story is the one that the listener tells themselves as they are carried away by the music.”

The post Rone – L(oo)ping with the London Contemporary Orchestra first appeared on UK Jazz News.

The post The Tea Hive Ep. 3 first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Becky and Rebecka chat about everything from carving out roles for singers in bop to writing lyrics, with recommendations on records old and new.

(*) There was a Christmas break… UKJN is a supporter of this series

The post The Tea Hive video series, Ep.2 first appeared on UK Jazz News.