News

New Orca Video - Act I - Victorious Orcinus

siteadmin — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:11:19 +0000

Orca

Posted May 9 2013

Check out this beautiful video for Orca from director friend Aaron Faulls (http://www.aaronfaulls.com/)

Orca Symphony Act I - Victorious Orcinus (Truncated Studio Version)

Serj Releasing Two Albums in June and July, Announces Tour Dates

siteadmin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:13:54 +0000

Orca

Posted Apr 25 2013

Serj is independently releasing two albums this summer through his own Serjical Strike Records.

Orca, Tankian’s first true symphony, will be released on June 25 and the collaborative jazz infused album Jazz-iz Christ will be released on July 23.

Recorded in Linz, Austria in October of 2012, Orca was composed and demoed in Tankian’s home studio and fully realized after a successful Kickstarter campaign that helped fund a recording and debut performance at the regal Brucknerhaus with the “Das Karussell Ensemble”. With conductor Werner Steinmetz at the helm, the four acts of Orca mix influences from early 20th century composers with modern film compositional dynamics showing influences ranging from Ennio Morricone to Philip Glass. Listeners are met with a mingling of sounds and intertwining pieces that are both serene and bombastic at the same time, offering a fresh interpretation to the classical art.

According to Tankian, “Orca is known as the killer whale, but is really a dark dolphin, a symbolism for human dichotomy.”

Jazz-iz Christ is Serj’s brainchild, but truly is a collaborative effort between many musicians that Tankian curated to be part of the group and self-titled album. Among others, there are considerable contributions from renowned pianist Tigran Hamasyan, flautist Valeri Tolstov, and trumpet player Tom Duprey. Additional performances from Stewart Copeland and actor/musician Davis Alpay and Vincent Pedulla make for a very unique collaboration. The 15 tracks that comprise Jazz-iz Christ, a mostly instrumental effort except for 4 tracks, are an amalgam of progressive jazz, electronic, ethnic and even rock elements, displaying a unique presentation of the genre itself.

Both albums will be available worldwide on iTunes, Amazon and other popular digital distributors and will be available for sale in various limited deluxe physical formats through Tankian’s official website and the website for Serjical Strike Records. Pre-orders for the deluxe limited editions of Orca, which includes a 180 gram picture disc, merchandise, and a signed version of the actual score, will begin on May 1, while pre-orders for Jazz-iz Christ will commence on May 15. Audio samples from both releases are available for preview on Serj’s official website.

Upon completion of System of a Down’s summer touring in August, Tankian will hang back in Europe until the commencement of his own solo orchestral tour dates that begin on September 19 in Kiev, Ukraine. The concert program will include all four acts of Orca, but will also incorporate performances of many songs from Elect The Dead Symphony, which achieved critical and commercial success upon it’s initial release and tour in 2010.

Confirmed tour dates below, with more to be announced in the days to come:

19 Sep 13 Thu Kiev Ukraine Ukraina Hall
21 Sep 13 Sat Yekaterinburg Russia Kosmos Hall
23 Sep 13 Mon Novosibirsk Russia DK Zheleznodorozhnik
25 Sep 13 Wed Krasnoyarsk Russia Philharmony
27 Sep 13 Fri Moscow Russia Crocus City Hall
28 Sep 13 Sat St. Petersburg Russia Orjktybyrsky Concert Hall
03 Oct 13 Thu Florence Italy Teatro Comunale
04 Oct 13 Fri Padova Italy Gran Teatro Geox
05 Oct 13 Sat Rome Italy Auditorium Parco Della Musica

New Song And Message From Serj

siteadmin — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 05:08:43 +0000

Jazz-Iz-Christ

Posted Mar 26 2013

Hello All,

I recently recorded this beautiful song in Armenian called Garuna by Komitas, with Tigran Hamasyan on piano. It will be released on our Jazz-iz-Christ record this summer. I want to dedicate it to all those in Armenia fighting for positive change.

Peace
Serj
Check it out here

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/84924458" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

Black Sabbath guitarist pens Armenia's Eurovision song entry

siteadmin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:41:28 +0000

Posted Mar 8 2013

Just wanted to share this article from Yahoo that I thought was really cool. Peace, Serj

LONDON (Reuters) - Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has written the music for Armenia's entry to the annual Eurovision Song Contest, bringing a heavy metal pioneer to an event described by the media as a "kitschfest" and "bad taste party".
The musician, a founding member of the influential British band, said the song called "Lonely Planet" was a "demo idea" which was eventually voted Armenia's Eurovision contender.
It is due to be performed by the Dorians in the semi-finals on May 16 in Malmo, Sweden, Iommi said.
Iommi has connections in Armenia as he was one of several rock stars who helped raise funds after a huge earthquake in 1988 killed 25,000 people and let tens of thousands homeless in the then Soviet Armenia.
He was given an order of honour by Armenia during a visit in 2009 and became involved in another project, to re-build a music school there.
Despite critical derision, Eurovision is watched by a television audience of tens of millions each year, and has helped launch the career of one of the biggest acts of all time, Abba, which won in 1974 with "Waterloo".
Last year's Eurovision Song Contest was held in Azerbaijan and won by Swedish act Loreen. The victory means Sweden hosts the competition this year.
Iommi has joined fellow founding members Ozzy Osbourne (vocals) and Geezer Butler (bass) to record Black Sabbath's first new album in 33 years, 13", which is due out in June.
Drummer Brad Wilk joined them after original band member Bill Ward pulled out of the reunion recording over a contract dispute.
The band's plans for a tour in 2012 were scaled back drastically after Iommi was diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatment for lymphoma.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

Sign This Petition

siteadmin — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:11:23 +0000

Posted Feb 28 2013

Note From Serj: "History cannot be re-written."

Please check out the link below and sign the petition.
Petition To Have British Museum Stop Misrepresentation Of Armenian Heritage As Ancient Turkey

Machinima Contest Reminder!

siteadmin — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:34:26 +0000

Posted Jan 31 2013

Don't forget to submit your Machinima Video before March 1st! All you have to do is take your favorite video game footage and set it to Serj Tankian's track Ching Chime! Upload your video with #ChingChimeContest in the title and send to serjmachinimacontest@gmail.com with all your information to be entered to win a tip to LA to hang out with Serj! For more info check out this video:

Machinima Contest

siteadmin — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:11:30 +0000

Harakiri

Posted Jan 17 2013

Want to win a free trip to Los Angeles to meet Serj? Machinima is hosting a video contest for the song "Ching Chime". Serj will pick the winner and fly you out to hang out. Get more details at the link here!

Mmm...Happy Holidays?

siteadmin — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:44:16 +0000

Posted Dec 21 2012

Serj Composes Music For Morning Star Video Game - Game Trailer Released

siteadmin — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:08:26 +0000

Composing

Posted Dec 18 2012

Serj has written the full musical score for the upcoming video game Morning Star. Industrial Toys, the studio producing the game, is set to release Morning Star in Spring of 2013, initially for iOS devices.

"I'm really enjoying working on Morning Star because it gives me the ability to create new musical worlds to complement the new visual worlds in the game,” explains Tankian. “Though most of the gameplay will be action oriented cues, the stunning artwork and static scenes have inspired unique sounds unheard before."

This is Serj's second venture into the world of writing music for video games. He previously composed portions of the score for John Woo’s critically acclaimed Stranglehold video game, released in 2007 for XBOX 360, Playstation 3 and Windows.

Industrial Toys released a trailer for Morning Star featuring music from Tankian last week that can be viewed at http://www.morningstargame.com

“We’ve been big fans of Serj’s for quite some time,” said Industrial Toys CEO Alex Seropian. “The opportunity to collaborate with him on Morning Star gave us a way to take the game to a whole new level. We knew his score would be unique, but it’s his ability to interpret a scene or gameplay element and come up with something that makes it moodier, more dramatic or just more awesome that’s really got us pumped.”

Set 120 years into our future, Morning Star takes players aboard the MSRV-Joplin, a research vessel newly outfitted with military weaponry to explore a mysterious signal coming from within our Solar System. When inevitable disaster strikes, Serj’s accompanying musical score provides the thrilling musical backdrop as players are transported across the cosmos to engage in an epic battle for the ages. The looming threat that awaits is unlike anything humanity has ever seen before.

The game is a complete reimagining of the science fiction shooter, combining pillars of the genre such as deep immersion and intense action with controls, community and competitive multiplayer specifically designed for mobile platforms.

New Limited Orca Packages Available

siteadmin — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:12:35 +0000

Orca

Posted Nov 30 2012

After our successful Kickstarter campaign for ORCA, we received numerous requests from some of you that wanted to support the project, but missed out on the opportunity to do so through Kickstarter. We're happy to announce that we have new Kickstarter-inspired ORCA packages in the Serjical Strike store. Available for a limited time only!
Check them out here: http://www.serjicalstrike.com/category/orca