Hamasyan, Tigran / Mockroot
Album: Mockroot   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Hamasyan, Tigran   Added:Jul 2015
Label:Nonesuch Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2015-08-07 Pull Date: 2015-10-09 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Oct 4 Sep 20 Sep 6 Aug 30 Aug 23 Aug 16
Airplays: 4 1 1 1 2 3

Recent Airplay
1. Mar 07, 2022: Melange (rebroadcast from Oct 1, 2015)
To Negate
4. Nov 25, 2017: The Prism Experiment
Song For Melan & Rofik
2. Sep 09, 2021: Rebop (rebroadcast from Oct 2, 2015)
To Negate
5. Oct 15, 2015: In Your Ear Radio
Kars 1, Song For Melan & Rofik, To Love
3. Aug 16, 2021: Melange (rebroadcast from Oct 1, 2015)
To Negate
6. Oct 13, 2015: Clean Copper Radio
To Love

Album Review
Margy Kahn
Reviewed 2015-07-28
Interesting work by Armenian-born pianist Tigran Hamasyan using some Armenian melodies and imitating some Middle Eastern instruments and dropping in 21st American musical ideas; no FCC's; *favorite tracks: 6,8,9,10

1. "To Love" (2:06) – vocalization with piano accompaniment with interesting ornamentation

2. "Song for Melan and Rafik" (5:56) – dense piano with vocalization; gathers complexity; sound tapestry where drums come in, polyrhythmic; really hard to describe (!); 42/16 time signature!; horns come in near end

3. "Kars 1" (5:26) – Armenian folk melody with words, track has some random unpleasant scratch sounds that don't sound intentional (maybe they are); turns into banged bass chords

4."Double Faced" (5:30) – lots of drum work, synth, some vocals, more of a musical idea than a song

5. "The Roads That Bring Me Closer" (4:16) – vocalization, maybe meant to be haunting, no Middle Eastern flavor; sounds little like a film soundtrack

*6. "Lilac" (4:10) – nice piano motifs to start; waltz in minor key; nice ornamentation; a little reminiscent of Satie (but keeps moving :-))

7."Entertain Me" (3:19) – starts off loud and insistent; heavy chords with drums

*8. "The Apple Orchard in Saghmosavanq" (4:22) – starts off quiet, contemplative with vocalization; adds sounds until it becomes very slowly more intense; and then drops back into quiet

*9. "Kars 2 (Wounds of the Centuries)" (1:34) – nice folk motif in minor key; very santur-ish

*10. "To Negate" (5:17) – starts mysteriously with Armenian mode on piano and vocalization; repetitive in a good way; nice tapered ending

11. "The Grid" (5:56) – starts neoclassical, fast; cuts off; jagged the way it goes in and out of rhythms

12. "Out of the Grid" (10:25) – starts off with nice treble santur-like figure; then synths cut in, gets heavier and bassier; goes a lot of different places as does this whole album


Track Listing
1. To Love   7. Entertain Me
2. Song For Melan & Rofik   8. The Apple Orchard In Saghmosaranq
3. Kars 1   9. Kars 2 (Wounds Of The Centuries)
4. Double Faced   10. To Negate
5. The Roads That Bring Me Closer To You   11. The Grid
6. Lilac   12. Out Of The Grid