Tigran Hamasyan

[Zappathustra]

This fellow deserves a separate thread. I discovered his music quite recently, and have been obsessed since, unable to stop listening to it. He's an amazing piano player, with a unique style - but he's also an extremely talented composer, who not only mixes genres, but effaces the lines between them, trying his hand at anything: jazz, classical, folk, metal, ambient, progressive...and zeuhl among others. He can switch from group work, to solo piano music (who has the guts to release solo piano music in our days and sound relevant?), to Armenian folk songs, so one can never be sure what he's going to hear when he plays one of his records.

Red Hail and Mockroot are masterpieces for me, and of particular interest for the progressive-fusion crowds. Shadow Theater and the solo piano Ancient Observer are also terrific. I was checking Gnosis and he gets so few ratings, that I was wondering if people here know about him or not. To me he is a genuine genius, one of the very few operating in our times. What does PE think of him?



jawdropping stuff



The metal riff coming in the middle of the song is like something that was waiting for Tigran to discover. Others have done it before, but not so unpretentiously and organically. Tigran was 20 years old when this thing was released!

[Sputnik]

I have Red Hail. It's pretty good. I like the more rock/fusion stuff on the album. The other stuff is OK, but I don't think it all goes together very well, it makes for a very uneven listen, imo. I almost wish he'd segregate his releases into different types so they were more consistent. It just feels like he's trying to squeeze too many approaches into a single release and that very few are going to dig such a wide variation in approaches.

I sampled Mockroot, but it didn't do much for me. Maybe I'll listen again, but it was just too all over the place. He has a new one out, and I sampled some of that. What I heard was good, but I'm gun-shy now, I hate to get a record and wind up disappointed with half of it.

Bill

[mnprogger]

yeah, among the more recent jazz-rock artists, he's 1 of my favorites.

[Mythos]

This fellow deserves a separate thread. I discovered his music quite recently, and have been obsessed since, unable to stop listening to it. He's an amazing piano player, with a unique style - but he's also an extremely talented composer, who not only mixes genres, but effaces the lines between them, trying his hand at anything: jazz, classical, folk, metal, ambient, progressive...and zeuhl among others. He can switch from group work, to solo piano music (who has the guts to release solo piano music in our days and sound relevant?), to Armenian folk songs, so one can never be sure what he's going to hear when he plays one of his records.

I suppose that's cool you hear all those styles, to me its just jazz (not that there's anything wrong with it, I just don't think he's reinventing the wheel...)

[Trane]

Red Hail and Mockroot are masterpieces for me, and of particular interest for the progressive-fusion crowds. Shadow Theater and the solo piano Ancient Observer are also terrific. I was checking Gnosis and he gets so few ratings, that I was wondering if people here know about him or not. To me he is a genuine genius, one of the very few operating in our times. What does PE think of him?

Those are definitely the two albums that progheads should try first when approaching Hamasyan's music. Mockroot has even some Zeuhl overtones,. I have no idea if it's on intent or not, but since Tigran lives in France and is part of the jazz scene, he's likely to have heard of Magma and Vander's music.

I sampled Mockroot, but it didn't do much for me. Maybe I'll listen again, but it was just too all over the place. He has a new one out, and I sampled some of that. What I heard was good, but I'm gun-shy now, I hate to get a record and wind up disappointed with half of it.

Hey Bill... Give Mockroot another try, because it's really wiorth it, IMHO.

yeah, among the more recent jazz-rock artists, he's 1 of my favorites.

Well TBH, ever since hitting it big (relatively speaking) with Mockroot, his new albums have been a big disappointment for me. He went to ECM and other labels but concentrated on folk/sacred Armenian music. I kind of lost interest and track of his discography in the last years.

[Sputnik]

Hey Bill... Give Mockroot another try, because it's really wiorth it, IMHO.

OK, just had a listen. There are four-and-a-half songs I like on this record, Double-Faced, Entertain Me, To Negate, The Grid, and half of Out of the Grid (which falls off a cliff at the five minute mark). Those are the songs that have a bit more of a fusion edge, and that more angular approach. The rest of the album seems to be dreamy piano music with operatic scatting of some melodies that gets tedious and frankly a bit boring for me. There's some of that on Red Hail too, but that record seems a bit better balanced.

Mockroot is about 60 minutes long, and I enjoy about 25 minutes worth of it. I think you really have to be a fan of that more dreamy/atmospheric stuff to enjoy this album, and a lot of what I've heard of his other records. If you are, that's great. He's obviously a fine player and he deservedly has a fanbase. But I'm not that into jazz overall unless it has some pretty clear rock elements, and I'm not into dreamy/atmospheric stuff at all, unless it's small doses used for contrast.

There are two samples from his new one on Bandcamp. They are both killer, but you can't sample the rest of the album, so I'm holding off on pre-ordering. If he made another record that was predominately in the jazz-rock vein like Red Hail or those two sample tracks, I'd grab it in a heartbeat. But his other stuff just doesn't have the same appeal for me. So it goes.

Bill

[AdventAlan]

Greetings,

We've been huge Tigran fans for years and have been fortunate enough to catch two of his live shows in NYC (the first in trio format and the second solo). I think we've managed to buy all his albums (though later in hi-res download form) with the exception of Red Hail and World Passion--and I hope they become available again in some reasonable form for purchase. Shadow Theater is my personal favorite, but all have great moments and are worth owning (or at least checking out), IMO.

This was the tune that immediately won me over and is still my favorite:



There's also a cool live version of the tune (though I prefer the studio arrangement):



Tigran has also influences a large number of younger progressive-oriented musicians.

Cheers,


Alan

[Zappathustra]

I suppose that's cool you hear all those styles, to me its just jazz (not that there's anything wrong with it, I just do think he's reinventing the wheel...)

There is definitely a strong jazz background, but I wouldn't classify him as a jazz musician. His range is far wider, and his solo piano music is closer to French composers like Satie and Debussy than anything jazz. Of course improvisation is a cornerstone of his musical vision.

Well TBH, ever since hitting it big (relatively speaking) with Mockroot, his new albums have been a big disappointment for me. He went to ECM and other labels but concentrated on folk/sacred Armenian music. I kind of lost interest and track of his discography in the last years.

He hasn't done anything like Mockroot in the last 5 years. Atmospheres is completely indifferent to me, but Ancient Observer is excellent, although solo piano music is not the easiest to draw one's attention.

... it makes for a very uneven listen, imo. l

Yes, fair enough. These were also my initial thoughts - and his work can be hit-or-miss many times. But when it hits, it hits right center. To my eyes, he is still an artist searching for his voice, and I admire his continuous will for exploration and expansion of his musical language.

This was the tune that immediately won me over and is still my favorite:

I love this too. The piano parts in the middle of the song are outstanding, this guy plays the piano like an electric guitar, producing the heaviness and rawness that only an electric instrument should give. Fantastic!

[Zeuhlmate]

Hiromi should listen to Tigran...

[Marco]

The two new singles are great (a return to Mockroot's djent/jazz). New Maps especially.

[Trane]

^^^^
Oooohhh!!!!....

Fuck , yeaaaaaahhh!!!.... joieintense.gif

here's the other one

[Sputnik]

^^^^
Oooohhh!!!!....

Fuck , yeaaaaaahhh!!!.... joieintense.gif

Yeah, this is what I've been saying. If the rest of the album is this good, I'm there. But I have my doubts, so I'm waiting to hear more.

Bill

[Zappathustra]

https://tigranhamasyan.bandcamp.com/...he-call-within

New album is out!

For the moment I will just say that this is very relevant musically to fans of progressive rock music. No ambient, solo piano etc.

[Sputnik]

https://tigranhamasyan.bandcamp.com/...he-call-within

New album is out!

For the moment I will just say that this is very relevant musically to fans of progressive rock music. No ambient, solo piano etc.

Awesome! I'll give the rest of it a quick sample, and if that's true, it's autobuy for me.

Bill

[boilk]

https://tigranhamasyan.bandcamp.com/...he-call-within

New album is out!

For the moment I will just say that this is very relevant musically to fans of progressive rock music. No ambient, solo piano etc.

He is a very recent discovery for me too. Just downloaded the new one from bandcamp. Looking forward to that first spin! I'm going to give the other two you suggested a try, too.

neil

[Sputnik]

https://tigranhamasyan.bandcamp.com/...he-call-within

New album is out!

For the moment I will just say that this is very relevant musically to fans of progressive rock music. No ambient, solo piano etc.

So I finished scanning the samples on Bandcamp and wound up buying the CD. I think there is some ambient/solo piano stuff here, but it appears more as interludes within the body of compositions that feature different approaches, and comprises only a small portion of the album. For me, this is exactly the approach I've wanted from him, and I hear tons of stuff on the record that I'm excited to explore further.

Glad he took my advice!

Bill

[Zappathustra]

So I finished scanning the samples on Bandcamp and wound up buying the CD. I think there is some ambient/solo piano stuff here, but it appears more as interludes within the body of compositions that feature different approaches, and comprises only a small portion of the album. For me, this is exactly the approach I've wanted from him, and I hear tons of stuff on the record that I'm excited to explore further.

Glad he took my advice!

Bill

I think this approach is the most interesting for people like us - to me you can just say that this is his next record after Mockroot and ignore or appreciate what came within this 5 year span. This record is definitely centered into the aggressive prog/fusion style of Red Hail (without having grasped the whole thing I already love.it..)

[Marco]

This is much, much better than Mockroot/Red Hail.

[Trane]

This is much, much better than Mockroot/Red Hail.

A little early to tell, but it's definitely in his best three, for sure.

I think this trio of albums will be in every proghead's top 3.

[Marco]

A little early to tell, but it's definitely in his best three, for sure.

I think this trio of albums will be in every proghead's top 3.

Agree to disagree. I really like some pieces in those records but they're really inconsistent, IMO.

[boilk]

I like this new one, on first listen. Really digging Mockroot as well, though. A really beautiful album, IMO.

neil

[Sputnik]

Received The Call Within yesterday and gave it a first spin last night. A very enjoyable listen, one that I'll be exploring more deeply over the coming weeks. Definitely in line with what I've wanted from him, a much more focused effort, but one that still expresses his different sides. There are parts of Red Hail that I absolutely love, but I think in the long run this one will be the album of his I reach for most often. Highly recommended for those who like his work.

Bill

[AdventAlan]

Hi again,

Have only had the opportunity to hear the new one twice thus far, but it's already up there among my favorites. "Space of Your Existence" is the track that stood out above the rest on first listen, but "Vortex" and "New Maps" are also standouts as well. The whole thing is really quite nice overall as well, IMO.

Cheers,


Alan

[Miciah]

I like Tigran Hamasyan's work a lot. He is doing two free live stream shows next weekend with dancer Oguri.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fall-le...s-119829660741

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fall-le...?aff=ebdssbeac