Approach with an open mind
SerArt is the musical collaboration between System Of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian and little-known multi-instrumentalist Arto Tuncboyaciyan (pronounced tunk-boy-a-jian apparently).
Turkish born avant-garde folk artist Arto has appeared on more than 200 records in Europe, before moving to the US where he has worked with numerous jazz legends, including Chet Baker, Al DiMeola and Joe Zawinul. He also held a semi-regular place with Paul Winter and the Earth Band, and fronts his own group: the American Navy Band.
The two met following Arto's performance at the 2000 Armenian Music Awards, with their Armenian backgrounds and collective love for sonic exploration providing them with an immediate common ground. This resulted in Arto performing on 'Arto' - the outro track of SOAD's 'Toxicity' album, helping form a friendship which then gave birth to SerArt - a musical partnership which was designed to expand each of their musical vocabularies, blend cultures and defy genres.
Serj and Arto decided to produce the album themselves in order to ensure that their unique vision was accurately realised, and the album is also the first release on Serj's own Serjical Strike Records, which he set up to provide a home for "bold, new original music". 'SerArt' certainly fulfils all three criteria, and the way that they have taken complete control over every aspect is a measure of the creative passion that Serj and Arto hold for the project.
The album gets off to a shaky start, with a piano-led intro that sounds like something out of a computer game giving way to 'Cinema'; a strange mix of drum and bass, Eastern influenced melodies and spastic vocal bursts. Things don't improve on the next track 'Devil's Wedding', where African world music beats dance amongst tribal chanting to form music that would provide the perfect soundtrack to a film noir Lion King. I admit that I had already made up my mind at this point; that 'SerArt' was pretentious gibberish from two musicians who had made an album that was strange for the sake of being strange, all in the name of 'art' (sigh). It would therefore take something pretty special to make me change my opinion, and special is exactly what I got.
The downbeat, soulful jazz of 'Walking Xperiment' is intoxicating, preparing you for the tranquil 'Black Melon', where the sound of burbling water, oriental pipes and guitar create a delicate ambience akin to sitting in the most peaceful of Japanese gardens. 'Leave Melody Counting Fear', with its funky trip-hop percussion, contains both the acoustic guitar and a Chinese stringed instrument called the 'guchin', but despite this the song has a definite Mexican feel. Special mention must be given to 'Love Is The Peace', which is one of the most emotionally charged songs I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, with samples of bombs and gunfire giving way to Arto's harrowing voice. Listening to this I can vividly imagine a scene of devastation after the violence of conflict, with people dying, families mourning and buildings and villages destroyed - I can't state strongly enough the emotional impact that this song has.
As you might expect from a collaboration between Serj and someone who is described as an 'avant-garde folk multi-instrumentalist', 'SerArt' is an extremely eclectic record, one which should not be tackled with a closed mind. It would be very easy to miss the point of 'SerArt', as it's not the sort of album that you can 'actively' listen to - you won't be singing along or tapping your feet. However, its trance-like, almost organic properties can be very relaxing, forming a musical journey that effortlessly creates powerful moods and emotions.
Serj says of creating the album that he enjoyed the experience because it was so immediate, stating that "there was no thinking about it", and indeed 'SerArt' does sound like a random collection of thoughts, which although somewhat directionless as a result, is very natural and brutally honest.
I urge you to listen to this album, and experience one of the most cultured, imaginative and refreshing releases you will hear this year.