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SERJ TANKIAN PUTTING FINISHING TOUCHES ON THIRD SOLO STUDIO ALBUM, 'HARAKIRI,' DUE OUT THIS SUMMER.
Zoiks! Online
http://www.zoiksonline.com/2012/04/serj-tankian-putting-finishing-touches.html
April 2 2012
Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet, political activist
and System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian is in his Serjical Strike
Studios in LA putting the finishing touches on his third solo studio
album, Harakiri, the follow-up to 2010's Imperfect Harmonies, which
will be released this summer on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records.
Much of the new record was written in 2011, which was an incredibly
busy year for the diversely talented musician and what Serj
describes as "the busiest, most productive year of my life so
far." In February, the rock musical Prometheus Bound,which he
composed all of the music for, opened at the Oberon Theater at
Harvard in Boston to rave reviews. 2011 also saw Serj release
his second poetry book, Glaring Through Oblivion. He toured with
System of a Down across three continents, performed with the Opera
Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia, where he also had political meetings
with heads of state and hosted non-profit events. He then performed
his first ever concert in Lebanon, the place of his birth, with the
Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra. When he returned to the US, he
finished writing four records: a jazz record, an electronic record
he wrote with his friend Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence,
a full classical symphony called Orca, and the new solo rock record
that he is currently mastering.
"The year 2011 started with a fire. Some kids in Piha, NZ were
setting off fireworks that landed on my neighbor's property and lit
the whole hill on fire. I knew it was going to be a hell of a year and
it certainly was," says Tankian. "Within 5 days of that, reports came
out about birds and fish dying in massive numbers globally. The omen
was not lost on me. Varied creatures on earth were committing massive
hara-kiri (the Japanese term signifying ritualistic suicide.) Do they
know something we don't about the coming times or the sustainability
of the environment? That is the day I started writing this record."
The symbolism of entire species eradicating themselves on a large scale
struck Serj emotionally, and is an underlying theme on the entire
record. He took that idea and went to work writing, incorporating
all of the experiences of his chaotic year to make a different kind
of record. "The record is different than any I've made as a solo
artist. It is much more driving and punk oriented with influences
ranging from goth to electronic to 80's vibes, dynamically heavy rock
to epic melodic songs. Lyrically, it spans the gauntlet of themes from
personal, political and philosophical to spiritual, humor and love."
He also tried to approach writing a little differently this time
around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch
out three of the songs on the record. We must trick ourselves into
writing in different ways to get unexpected results."
The new album is slated for a summer release, and is all performed,
written, produced, and engineered by Serj. The album will also feature
performances by Serj's touring band, The F.C.C. - Dan Monti on guitar,
Mario Pagliarulo on bass, and Troy Zeigler on drums. Dan Monti is
also co-mixing and co-engineering the album with Serj. The album
will be mastered by Vlado Meller (Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Kanye West, Beastie Boys.)
Expect an album announcement and new music from Serj in the very
near future.
From: A. Papazian
Zoiks! Online
http://www.zoiksonline.com/2012/04/serj-tankian-putting-finishing-touches.html
April 2 2012
Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet, political activist
and System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian is in his Serjical Strike
Studios in LA putting the finishing touches on his third solo studio
album, Harakiri, the follow-up to 2010's Imperfect Harmonies, which
will be released this summer on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records.
Much of the new record was written in 2011, which was an incredibly
busy year for the diversely talented musician and what Serj
describes as "the busiest, most productive year of my life so
far." In February, the rock musical Prometheus Bound,which he
composed all of the music for, opened at the Oberon Theater at
Harvard in Boston to rave reviews. 2011 also saw Serj release
his second poetry book, Glaring Through Oblivion. He toured with
System of a Down across three continents, performed with the Opera
Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia, where he also had political meetings
with heads of state and hosted non-profit events. He then performed
his first ever concert in Lebanon, the place of his birth, with the
Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra. When he returned to the US, he
finished writing four records: a jazz record, an electronic record
he wrote with his friend Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence,
a full classical symphony called Orca, and the new solo rock record
that he is currently mastering.
"The year 2011 started with a fire. Some kids in Piha, NZ were
setting off fireworks that landed on my neighbor's property and lit
the whole hill on fire. I knew it was going to be a hell of a year and
it certainly was," says Tankian. "Within 5 days of that, reports came
out about birds and fish dying in massive numbers globally. The omen
was not lost on me. Varied creatures on earth were committing massive
hara-kiri (the Japanese term signifying ritualistic suicide.) Do they
know something we don't about the coming times or the sustainability
of the environment? That is the day I started writing this record."
The symbolism of entire species eradicating themselves on a large scale
struck Serj emotionally, and is an underlying theme on the entire
record. He took that idea and went to work writing, incorporating
all of the experiences of his chaotic year to make a different kind
of record. "The record is different than any I've made as a solo
artist. It is much more driving and punk oriented with influences
ranging from goth to electronic to 80's vibes, dynamically heavy rock
to epic melodic songs. Lyrically, it spans the gauntlet of themes from
personal, political and philosophical to spiritual, humor and love."
He also tried to approach writing a little differently this time
around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch
out three of the songs on the record. We must trick ourselves into
writing in different ways to get unexpected results."
The new album is slated for a summer release, and is all performed,
written, produced, and engineered by Serj. The album will also feature
performances by Serj's touring band, The F.C.C. - Dan Monti on guitar,
Mario Pagliarulo on bass, and Troy Zeigler on drums. Dan Monti is
also co-mixing and co-engineering the album with Serj. The album
will be mastered by Vlado Meller (Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Kanye West, Beastie Boys.)
Expect an album announcement and new music from Serj in the very
near future.
From: A. Papazian