Conversations and celebrations of the artists, music, stories, and cultural treasures inspiring little Armenian explorers.

A new generation is dancing along. Recently, my good friend’s five-year-old daughter in Los Angeles and my own three-year-old son here on the East Coast have been listening to Sirusho’s “PreGomesh” and her other songs - moving, singing, and responding to the music with the same joy many of us felt years ago. We’ve been sharing little videos of our kids’ dance sessions with one another, a sweet reminder that Armenian music continues to connect children across generations and coasts.

It brought me back to my 2018 interview with Sirusho, whose work has long made Armenian music feel both rooted and current.

With Sirusho following our 2018 interview in NJ

Through her unique blend of Armenian folk influences, contemporary pop and dance rhythms, she has created music that travels across generations and borders.

First released in 2012, “PreGomesh” (later featured on Sirusho’s Armat album) was inspired by “Lorva Gutanerg” (“A Song of the Lori Plowman”), a traditional plowing song collected, analyzed, and notated by Komitas. The song’s introduction incorporates the sound of “Lorva Gutanerg,” creating a beautiful bridge between Komitas’s preservation of Armenian folk music and Sirusho’s contemporary interpretation. It’s a beautiful example of how Sirusho carries cultural memory into a modern sound.

For those of us who danced to her music in our early 20s, it’s especially moving to see today’s youngest listeners discovering her on their own - dancing in living rooms, learning the rhythms, singing the words, and feeling connected to something distinctly Armenian.

Below, I’m revisiting excerpts from my 2018 interview with Sirusho, originally published in the Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

Taleen Babayan: In addition to recording pop music, you have made a real effort to record Armenian traditional and folk music with a modern spin as we have heard on your “Armat” album. As an artist, why is it significant to remember your cultural and historical roots?

Sirusho Harutyunyan:My thought is that it is our natural, human need to belong in order to feel safe. We are all Armenian and our shared history and mentality makes us feel stronger and safer. While living outside (the homeland) it’s natural to feel lonely and even while living in Armenia. But we aren’t alone. We should always be together and I want to remember the history we went through together and how strong we’ve been to be here as a people today. We have had strong forebears and heroes and we stand on their shoulders. We have to honor our heroes and their moral values, power and strength and we have to continue that legacy with pride and find that inner strength within all of us.

TB: Why do you think it is important for today’s popular contemporary singers, such as yourself, to honor and respect the legacy of those who came before them? [Including re-recording legendary singer Harout Pamboukjian’s “Tariner.”]

SH:I have parents who traveled through the same journey (Sirusho’s father is actor/director Hrachya Harutyunyan and her mother is singer Syuzan Margaryan). As a representative of my generation, I applaud and thank those who came before me for their hard work. It’s a beautiful thing. We can’t forget the journeys others took before us and we have to always show gratitude and learn from them. I remember listening to Harout Pamboukjian with my friends at parties and gatherings when I was younger. For me, I associate his music with those years. Even if he himself wasn’t present, his voice was present among us. Through his music, he takes his listeners through happy times as well as painful moments. He has entered people’s hearts and I was just happy to have the opportunity to sing and record together. It’s hard to re-record a song already loved by so many but my wish to collaborate was sincere and from my heart.