Tigran Hamasyan - Jazz +world music +meshuggah +fempop

[wankerness]

His release pattern has been full group/small group since the beginning so this might be a trio album. Areni was on Red Hail but not A Fable, so unfortunately we might have to wait for the next album for another full band deal like Shadow Theater and Red Hail. It's probably something to do with the amount of composition, arranging and hiring of musicians that has to go into his full band deals while a trio or solo album can be generated partially by whatever they were doing on the tour and is much lower impact but allows him to keep releasing stuff.

I hope I'm wrong and he'll do an unprecedented full band/full band move, but don't get your hopes up too much! They haven't announced any details yet. With any luck it will be in the vein of the EP where it's sorta half between band and small group and we'll get Areni on a couple tracks. The sample there sure was in the vein of that EP.

 

[Malkav]

Areni announced on facebook that she'll be on the new album

EDIT: Other members on this album will be Arthur Hnatek, Sam Minaie and Gayane Movsisyan.

 

[jonajon91]

---edit---

I should probably check the thread before I post, but ah well.

 

[wankerness]

I can't figure out from google what Gayane Movsisyan plays. I'm disappointed we're losing Nate Wood, but I'm sure this guy is good too, looks like he's been touring with them. Great news on Areni and Sam.

 

[HassanIqbal]

I can't figure out from google what Gayane Movsisyan plays. I'm disappointed we're losing Nate Wood, but I'm sure this guy is good too, looks like he's been touring with them. Great news on Areni and Sam.

Gayanée is the vocalist from Tigran's EP n°1, Nate is on the album too along with Ben and Chris.

Areni's updated status: "Coming soon! With Arthur Hnatek, Sam Minaie, Ben Wendel, Nate Wood, Chris Tordini, Gayanée Movsisyan, Tigran Hamasyan and me!"

 

[wankerness]

Two set drummers and two bassists, huh? I guess they'll switch off on songs or something. Glad that they're getting Ben Wendel again, though he didn't have much to do on the album version of Shadow Theater.

 

[ayytist]

fukken WOW

 

[wankerness]

I'm not that excited by that simply compared to Shadow Theater (obviously it's still really awesome compared to almost anyone else), it sounds like a B-side since it doesn't really develop or have any harmonization or non-rhythm instruments or anything and I don't like the synths in the first/last section, it just sounds kinda undercooked compared to all the full songs on Shadow Theater. It sure does accentuate the Meshuggah influence in probably the biggest way yet besides maybe the couple of distorted guitar tracks on Red Hail, 4/4 pulse over that kind of heavy thing with china cymbal is totally classic Meshuggah. If this is just a "transition track" like the similar Corrupted on Red Hail, then I take back everything and it rules!

EDIT: There's a short sample of the track after it on the preorder page and that one is nothing like anything on the previous album, it's very post-rock or something with heavy vocals and odd electronics. It certainly sounds nothing like Entertain Me. Entertain Me also seems to be one of the shortest tracks on the album which is a good sign.

http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/mockroot

I just preordered it! This and Maria Schneider's upcoming album are probably going to be my albums of the year and they both come out first thing.

DOUBLE EDIT: Oh, they give you the full track of both of those songs when you preorder. This Apple Orchard song is a lot better imo. As mentioned before, it's rather post-rock. It's very simple in terms of technicality but it's got really lush, depressing chords and vocals. It also has electric guitars very present in the mix.

 

[wankerness]

So that's on youtube now, and it's posted on his official channel so I don't feel bad about linking it. I've listened to it a LOT today, it's really dark and really gorgeous. I think it's a bit simpler than Shadow Theater and I can't even tell if that's Areni singing the falsetto parts since it's so buried in the mix, but damn is it good.

 

[AugmentedFourth]

Words cannot describe how absolutely ecstatic I am for this release.

I'm not that excited by that simply compared to Shadow Theater (obviously it's still really awesome compared to almost anyone else), it sounds like a B-side since it doesn't really develop or have any harmonization or non-rhythm instruments or anything...

I'm not sure I agree. Although topping Shadow Theater is a near mythical feat, judging from these two tracks this album is shaping up to be just as good, I'd say. It definitely has some development, much more so than say, Corrupt. (Which is basically strophic.)

A | B | A+B | A' | A'' | coda

There is a lot of melodic complexity in the A section. If anything I would say that the common thread between the two tracks is the insane melodic complexity that we all love about Tigran. B seems more boring in comparison, but the rhythmic complexity is there without a doubt. Very metal-ish. As for harmonization, you said there is none but he pretty clearly pairs that B section as a bass line with a slightly modified version of the A section. Probably the height of the track, essentially in the middle. Very classical.

...and I don't like the synths in the first/last section, it just sounds kinda undercooked compared to all the full songs on Shadow Theater.

I see what you are saying. They don't bother me quite as much, and it reminded me of The Bad Plus's last album. Normally they are a straight-up jazz piano trio, but on "Made Possible" they tried embellishing using very occasional software instruments (including software drums and trumpets). If anyone in this thread has not gotten into tB+, they need to do so. If you like Tigran I can almost guarantee you will like tB+. The only exception I can think of is that tB+ are much more second-half-of-the-20th-century influenced, which I like, but it's not what you see in Tigran's music.



An example of their more subtle use of synths:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skOxnxIROkY&t=4m56s

Less subtle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skOxnxIROkY&t=16m9s

 

[jonajon91]

Not related to the new album or the two new songs, but one of my recent assignments at uni was to take a folk melody and turn it into something new and fresh. I chose the same Armenian folk song that 'Drip' was based on and turn it into a classical guitar duet. I have finished writing it as of today, but i'm thinking about finding someone else who plays classical guitar (either in real life or on this forum) and filming it, it would be something really awesome to share with you guys is all.

 

[wankerness]

I saw the bad plus live in support of that album, and after seeing them live I just can't listen to their albums. They sound so flat, compressed and sterile compared to their live shows, which are absolutely explosive. The track "In Stiches" in particular was one of the most stunning things I've ever heard/seen live, the amount of crescendo they were able to pull off in a huge concert hall was just mindboggling. On the album, of course, the dynamic change is very little due to the limitations of CD sound, even though the playing and writing is still great, it just isn't even remotely close to how it was when I saw them live. Their stuff just seems flat on album, I guess. I never got into them very much before seeing them live, and then after seeing them live it just made their albums seem even WORSE. I'll definitely go see them any time they're in the area, though. But yeah, I wouldn't put them remotely in the same ballpark as Tigran when it comes to albums. I don't mind their albums, but there's nothing that really got me excited besides maybe "Seven Minute Mind" and "Physical Cities." I guess the trio thing is what holds them back for me. A big part of what I love about Tigran is the vocals and how lush it gets, while they're more just edgy, somewhat spazzy jazz with a lot of rock influence (some of their covers are pretty lame, like "Narc"). It's both too traditionally jazz and too unstructured for me. I'm DEFINITELY very much about the complex compositions over improvisation, which I guess is why I'm not much of a jazz guy.

Well, yeah, of course there's harmony in the piano part, I just mean there's not like the complex interlocking vocal and sax lines over the top of it, it's just complex piano noodling with bass. I mean it's less dense compositionally than all my favorite tracks on Shadow Theater...it even has less going on than Collapse/Alternate Universe. It's more along the lines of Vardavar, I guess, but without the weird little flourishes like beatboxing, manipulated vocals and classical interludes that made that one for me.

 

[jonajon91]

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/jonathan-keeler-1/water-from-the-mountain-duet[/SC]

This is what I have so far, at the moment it is just logic sounds, but I would love to record this with live instruments at some point.

 

[asher]

fukken WOW

 

[MartinMTL]

I see what you are saying. They don't bother me quite as much, and it reminded me of The Bad Plus's last album. Normally they are a straight-up jazz piano trio, but on "Made Possible" they tried embellishing using very occasional software instruments (including software drums and trumpets). If anyone in this thread has not gotten into tB+, they need to do so. If you like Tigran I can almost guarantee you will like tB+. The only exception I can think of is that tB+ are much more second-half-of-the-20th-century influenced, which I like, but it's not what you see in Tigran's music.



An example of their more subtle use of synths:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skOxnxIROkY&t=4m56s

Less subtle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skOxnxIROkY&t=16m9s

Oh, my god. I need more. Not to get too off track, but what other artists are there like this? I need more of this modern jazzy stuff. Along with prog/death metal I mostly listen to jazz, but just the classics, so I need more!

Also, the piano in the last few seconds of the teaser for mockroot is just astounding. Definitely haven't been this excited for an album in a while.

 

[Zalbu]

This is more brutal than many metal bands

The funny thing is that I actually heard about Tigran a while back, before I stumbled across this thread, but I completely forgot about it. So if you have an hour and a half to spare, check out this video. It's unreal.

(I know, it was linked earlier in the thread but it deserves to get linked again)

 

[Dusty Chalk]

GoGo Penguin is pretty good, too (not as good as Bad Plus, but still quite good).

And Hiromi is fochin' aye fantastic.

 

[Cnev]

Let's not forget Mouse on the Keys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAcy16aDInQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFoetd0sD6Y

So excited for Tigran's new one. Moreso than any other recent release I've anticipated as of late.

 

[AugmentedFourth]

Oh, my god. I need more. Not to get too off track, but what other artists are there like this? I need more of this modern jazzy stuff. Along with prog/death metal I mostly listen to jazz, but just the classics, so I need more!

As Cnev said, this is a Mouse on the Keys track any Tigran fan will like:



Guitar-based:



Piano-based:

 

[MartinMTL]

Nice, lots to check out!

I already have some Vijay iyer already, but the other stuff is sounding pretty good. Thanks dudes.