DUBAI: Dubai-based Armenian musician Samvel Gasparyan has released a new EP, “Morning in Yerevan.” The jazz pianist combines his contemporary influences with Armenian folk music on the five-track record. The title track, for example, is supposed to mimic the vibrant atmosphere of the ancient Armenian capital (the EP release coincides with the city’s 2,800th anniversary, apparently), and uses some traditional sounds to anchor itself in the past. Closing track “On the Way to Sevan” is Gasparyan’s attempt to recreate the “excitement of driving to the heavenly scenery” of the titular Armenian lake.
Gasparyan has lived in the UAE since 2012, the same year that he was a prize winner at the Montreux International Jazz Competition, having also picked up an award at the Nottingham International Jazz Competition in 2011.
“Music, for me, is love and understanding that illuminates dark times and (brings) serenity during great times,” Gasparyan said in a press release for “Morning in Yerevan.” “It is a form of communication that transcends space and time, touching the hearts of people worldwide.”
In other regional music news, Lebanese singer Abeer Nehme has released her latest single, “Talfantelak,” a collaboration with lyricist and poet Germanos Germanos. The track’s got a lot to live up to: Nehme’s previous single “Waynak” picked up Song of the Year from Apple Music in the region.
Speaking to Arab News in August last year, Nehme described music as her “passport” and said, “It enables me to deliver a message and express ideas that any other language would have failed to deliver. I feel like my music is making a difference and spreading joy, hope and beauty.”
And Canadian-Lebanese singer-songwriter Danny Aridi also release a new single this month, entitled “Fool For You,” with an accompanying video set in London.
“Danny aims to express the effect that someone can have on our actions and behavior once we are blinded by their love,” the press release stated.
