But he says getting personally involved makes a tangible difference. It’s a pretty shitty time in history.”ĭoes he ever feel, then, like he’s wasting his breath? “There are times you get hopeless,” Tankian admits. The fire and the embers are burning continually at this point, and I don’t know if it’s going to stop. and Russia agreed on a ceasefire in Syria, what, two days ago? And now 20 dead today, and more bombings. “The world is not a more peaceful place and it’s - fuck, man,” he says with a sigh.
“There’s only so much you can do by talking about shit in this world.” -Serj Tankian When the conversation turns to the themes in Elect the Dead - the absurdity of our politics, the feeling that the apocalypse may be right around the corner - his tone becomes bitter. Whatever his musical endeavors, Tankian remains a man deeply preoccupied with the state of the world. 1 and a jazz-rock hybrid called Jazz-Iz-Christ featuring ace pianist Tigran Hamasyan. In 2013, he released two records: Orca Symphony No. When not preparing to perform with orchestras, Tankian divides his time between other symphonic projects, including scoring films like 1915, a thriller that addresses the Armenian genocide a sci-fi game called Midnight Star and its sequel, Renegade and Prometheus Bound, a musical production of the ancient Greek tragedy. Tankian will perform a symphonic arrangement of Elect the Dead alongside Orca Symphony at the VPAC shows. In 2006, he self-produced and self-released his solo debut, Elect the Dead, a rock album in which he envisions the world upending itself. It’s a question Tankian has strived to answer himself as both his music and his activism have developed since the release of System's last album, 2005’s Hypnotize. “ where you go deep and try to realize who you are. Tankian says it’s meant to evoke taking in the complexity of human life in all its positives and negatives. The second movement, called “Oceanic Subterfuge,” is a bit more meditative. “We’ve done our things in life, we’ve destroyed things, we've conquered … we’ve built all these monuments and temples to ourselves,” he explains. Orca Symphony's first movement, Tankian says, is a kind of survey of the spoils of humankind’s selfishness. The symphony is a long way from the terse, manic snap of System of a Down albums such as Toxicity or Mezmerize, and that’s where Tankian wants to be - for the moment, at least. 10 and 12 at Valley Performing Arts Center, performed by the CSUN Symphony Orchestra. Now, on a recent early-autumn afternoon in Los Angeles, Tankian - as politically passionate as ever - is explaining the symbolism in his Orca Symphony No. With forebears in Rage Against the Machine, they railed against war, the police state and American materialism. On summer festival stages, Tankian talked to audiences about the Armenian genocide - a conversation you could bet Papa Roach weren’t having with their fans. They ticked off prison statistics in the middle of their songs they composed mini-operas that hinted at Queen-level ambition they were unabashedly non-Anglo in a lily-white milieu otherwise ruled by the likes of Fred Durst. One of the biggest and arguably best of the nu-metal bands of the late ’90s and early ’00s, System stood out in ways that still resonate. Not that System of a Down could ever be accused of regurgitating. “They need to follow their vision, otherwise they’re just regurgitating, and that’s not art.” “My take on art is that an artist needs to do different things,” Tankian explains. Serj Tankian's deep fascination with orchestral music is just one indication that the rock singer's focus has evolved significantly since his band, System of a Down, released their most recent album 11 years ago.
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