Piano: Avedis Özdemir
Double Bass, Cello: Aydın Balpınar
Drums: Ayberk Garagon
Recording : Ege Geveli
Assistant Recording Engineers: Can Şeren, Mert Bozdemir
Mixing: Burak Serter
Mastering: Güven Ersoysal
Cover Art: Pınar Balpınar, Harutyun Arto Davulciyan, Serli Hobikoğlu Özdemir
Cover Photo: Hilda Bağban Hobikoğlu
Released by: Alis Records
I’m beyond excited to share my new album Hov Arek with you. Its title comes from an Armenian lyric:
“Mountains, send me your breeze and heal my sorrow.”
This call for solace through nature weaves through the entire album — especially the first track. I hope it brings you a moment of peace and openness.
This album is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and double bassist Aydın Balpınar. We miss you.
1- Hov Arek
2- Hayganuş
3- Horodik
4- 1+1=1
5- Serli
The title of the album and the first piece comes from an Armenian phrase that means “Mountains, send me your breeze and heal my sorrow.” This idea of solace through nature shaped this piece. The repeating two notes at the beginning of the piece represents birdsong. As it unfolds, the appearance of real bird sounds reinforces the underlying theme of the track. As the piece draws to a close, the ensemble enters with strength and clarity, setting the stage for what’s to come — an introduction to the sonic world of the rest of the album.
Throughout the album, I included some rhythmic patterns that we enjoyed playing together as a band.
Particularly in the third piece Horodik, inspired by Armenian music traditionally accompanied by group dancing, I was drawn to the idea of bending its rhythms and reimagining it as a different kind of halay. I was really excited about the idea of disrupting the standard 4/4 rhythm of the halay and turning it into an irregular one. As a group, we also aimed to acoustically replicate the effect of a turntable slowing down. Because of this, in one part of the track, you’ll notice an abrupt stop in the rhythm followed by a change in pitch.