Tired?

This could’ve been a segment from a TV interview. Surprisingly, this is not one of those with live studio audience, bright colors featuring the irritating voice of an anchor promising cheaper sensations. You are just quietly talking to him with no fear of being exposed. Bright colors are going along with your youthful glowing skin yet here — despite your own teeth and gracious posture — you long to be vulnerable. To tell him that you are anxious, to shout at him so he might overcome the explosions of the bombs, justify your black clothes as almost a hygenic need of protecting yourself from wars and grief. You laugh with him while thinking of witches and possessing dark powers, yet weep with him for disobeying the crowds. To revisit the sites where you fell, to glide through memories and re-establish yourself as someone out of this blue. It ain’t blues, it’s you just before a commercial break.

He would listen to you patiently and reply, Ich auch, Ich auch…

About the author

Samvél Khachatryan

Samvél Khachatryan is an author, translator and sound artist based in Armavir, Armenia. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science and International Affairs from the American University of Armenia. Following his debut novel, “26 Baghramian Avenue”, Sam is currently working on his second novel, “Yerevan Blues”. His ambient/experimental records are closely interlinked to his texts, as both introduce personal narratives on memory, drama, and music. His recent record, “Radio “Yerevan Blues””, is set to be played in public in parallel with the publication of the novel. As a translator, Samvél has translated three books, the latest of which, the short story by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, was published in August 2022 (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

Samvél’s motto is “As ignorable as it is interesting (listen to the quiet voice!)”. This oblique strategy is definitive to ambient music, which is not suitable for mainstream consumption, but gives the audience a chance to pay closer attention to atmospheric sounds (and words) for richer experiences.