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Music from Armenia

by Ghedtair Composite

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1.
Kotchary 03:51
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Es Kez Tesa 03:51
7.
8.
9.
Havadarim 04:43
10.
Saren Guka 01:52

about

Being Armenian has been a vague concept to me for most of my life. Like many diasporans, my family was generations removed from Armenia, almost fully melted into America. My childhood was more bacon than sujuk; more soccer practice than Armenian language lessons. Even with limited exposure to the Armenian world, I always had curiosity to learn more about our culture, especially the music that my ancestors may have heard, sung, or danced to on Armenian soil. That curiosity was mostly a distant, background thought – until 2014, when I volunteered and traveled through Armenia, developing/uncovering a true connection and sense of Armenian-ness for the first time.

This album is many things for me, and one of them is definitely continuing my self education journey by absorbing classic pieces of Armenian music and contorting it to fit my own tendencies and sounds. Another intention was to foster new connections with a community I didn’t have growing up by finding and recording with this new cast of Armenian musicians.

But there was a much heavier urge to move on this project after a military offensive was launched on the culturally and historically Armenian populated land of Artsakh by Azerbaijan with the help of the Turkish administration in September of 2020, while the world was preoccupied with a pandemic and the rise of autocratic leaderships around the world. Vastly outnumbered, underfunded, and technologically inferior, large parts of this land were lost as a result of a treaty ending the violence. Now, in the winter of 2021, we’re seeing more incursions into Armenia proper, and more soldiers and civilians displaced, injured and killed.

I’m not saying making an album of Armenian music with 9 other musicians is a heroic effort that will save the remainder of our land, but while I’ve worked on this music for the past year, I was inspired by the idea of contributing to a cultural footprint in my own small way.

Any funds that are generated by the sale of this album through Bandcamp will be donated directly to the Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund. It’s one of many organizations doing the real work right now, and it’s tough to only support one group, so if you feel so inclined to donate directly to more, please look into these:


www.aeofoundation.org/cause/musical-instruments-for-armenia/ (from page: Our goal is to help further the music education of Armenian children for a better future. We connect with music schools and teachers in all parts of Armenia, and provide them the musical instruments they need. The music schools are very neglected, and barely have any instrument for children to play on, especially in areas outside of Yerevan.)
www.armeniafund.org (largest org which distributes funds to many sectors, connects diaspora to homeland, supports Karabagh and outer regions as well)
kooyrigs.org (“provides resources by launching community projects, educational initiatives, and amplifying marginalized voices within Armenia”)
armenianwoundedheroes.com ("dedicated to saving, supporting, and empowering wounded soldiers of Armenia")

credits

released February 18, 2022

1 - Kotchary - by trad.
Justin Mayfield - guitars, synth

2 - Gakavy Yerke/Le le yaman - transcribed by Komitas
Justin Mayfield - guitars, synth, percussion, vocals
Alex Ruiz - drums

3 - Karoun A - by Komitas
Sima Cunningham - vocals
Justin Mayfield - guitars, synth, sequencing
Daniel Ehramjian - bass

4 - Alagyas/Ah Maral Jan - by Grikor Suni, Komitas
Michael Sarian - trumpet
Justin Mayfield - guitars, synth, percussion, vocals
Pete Moffett - drums

5 - Kele Kele - by Komitas
Sevana Tchakerian - vocals
Justin Mayfield - guitars, bass, synth, drums

6 - Es Kez Tesa - by Komitas
Justin Mayfield - vocals, guitar, synths, percussion, drums
Noah Garabedian - bass

7 - Khorourt Khorin - by Magar Yegmalian
Justin Mayfield - guitar, synths, percussion, drums
Noah Garabedian - bass

8 - O Rose (Ay Vart) - by Alexander Spendiaryan
Shauna Topian - vocals
Justin Mayfield - guitars, synth, bass, percussion

9 - Havadarim - by Komitas
Justin Mayfield - guitars, synth, percussion, vocals
Alex Ruiz - drums

10 - Saren Guka - folk trad.
Justin Mayfield - vocals, guitars, bass, sequencing
Craig Heed - 12 string guitar


Archival audio recorded in 1982 by Mark Mayfield (my dad) featuring interviews with Hagop and Grace Sunukjian (my great grandparents) was used on tracks 4, 6, 7 and 9.

Recorded and mixed by Justin Mayfield
Mastered by Hovhannes Darbinyan (DHS Mastering)

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Ghedtair Composite Brooklyn, New York

Armenian music arranged performed and recorded by Justin Mayfield with a bunch of other musicians.

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