Deleyaman is the name of your band as well as one of the songs from your first album. What does the word mean, and why did you choose it as the name of your band?
Aret: The name comes from an old Armenian chant depicting a legend between lovers. In time, the old chant became the symbol of Anatolian lands and of exile. We chose it simply because Beatrice, who is French, had no idea of the meaning and suggested it when she heard the word. We thought it felt right, so be it.
You were raised in Istanbul. How did growing up in Turkey inspire your music?
Aret: I lived in Istanbul till the age of 13, when my family moved to L.A., and I feel that all that I absorbed from those first years was buried deep within me almost unconsciously. The two cultures to which I was exposed and that fed me were at odds and opposites in many respects, so I believe that it made me schizophrenic in one sense and a citizen of the world in another.
The music you create in Deleyaman has a lot of overt traditional influences, but you started out playing in a punk band. What lessons did you learn from the punk scene?
Aret: I learned and discovered that you could express your feelings through the medium of music even if you aren't a so-called virtuoso musician. Punk has forever given this gift to artists and music, and no one can take it away from it. Besides that, it was an answer to the '70s bands which at the end of that decade seemed to have joined the mainstream. It was a shout, a musical fight between the ones in power and the ones rising from beneath, the underground.
Do you feel that what you do is still informed by the punk aesthetic and philosophy, even through Deleyaman's music doesn't have obvious punk elements?
Aret: I personally do, yes. The aesthetics? I don't know. But a part of the philosophy? Certainly. It is not the case with all members of Deleyaman. Gerard, who plays the ancient wind instruments in Deleyaman, such as the duduk or the shevi, has an extensive knowledge of traditional music from the Caucasian regions of the world, and knows their religion, philosophy and culture. In my case, even though I am very interested in learning more, I am pretty sure that without my punk background I wouldn't perceive the world the same way. I am a strange mix of that and my Oriental heritage.
 
Several songs on your new album are interpretations of traditional pieces. How did you select these particular pieces, in particular "Dejlig Rosa," which is sung in Swedish?
Aret: There are only two titles, "Home" and "Dejlig Rosa," that are in fact interpretations and arrangements of traditional pieces.
"Home" is composed of two separate parts, the first being in Turkish and the second in Armenian. These were two distinct and separate pieces that we arranged into one. I wanted the two languages in the same song as a dialogue between the two peoples. The idea of "Dejlig Rosa" bloomed in our hearts thanks to Mia, our Swedish drummer. One night, as we were having dinner right after a gig, she taught Beatrice the words of this traditional Swedish song and they started singing together on the table, all the while laughing and having a good old time. I didn't think it was funny, but on the contrary a great idea, so about a year later Beatrice and I recorded the album version.
How much do you change them before recording? What is that process like?
Aret: We completely transform them. We don't pay any attention whatsoever to the music of the traditional version. What we keep are the lyrics and the melody line of the vocal part. In "Home," for example, we added the entire choral parts and harmonies with the second and third vocal parts that do not exist in the traditional version.
Only a fraction of your songs feature lyrics in English. How crucial a role do lyrics play in your music? Do you think it's important that the audience know what is being sung, or do you view the voice primarily as an instrument?
Aret: There is absolutely no intellectual--or let me say mental--consideration, nor preparation, in the way we proceed within Deleyaman.
The languages sort of present themselves naturally, whether in English, Armenian, or even Turkish and Swedish. I feel that planned out intention would take away from the sincerity of the heart. The voice is an instrument. It is the most ancient musical instrument of mankind. However, that does not mean that we don't care about the lyrics that we choose. The first criteria is often the musical texture of the language. Let me explain: as in the case of instruments, languages differ in color and texture from one another. There is as much difference in the sound of Armenian and English as there is between a bass and a guitar, so we choose the language and the lyrics as we would choose an instrument for a part. It is often terribly obvious.
 
"Raven Days" is one of the most stirring songs on the latest album. What is the story behind this song?
Aret: The song's lyrics were inspired by a 19th century American poet named Sidney Lanier, born in Georgia. He died in North Carolina at the age of 39 from tuberculosis. He was apparently also a musician. If I am not mistaken, it was a poem written after the civil war. I found it very moving, and I let the inspiration become a guide until I found the melody line of the vocals and the music.
Ravens also come up on "Kalisse," which incorporates lines from Poe's "The Raven." Besides Poe, who are your favorite writers? Who inspires you as a lyricist?
Aret: Well, the literary American figures would be the likes of Edgar Allen Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Robert Frost. We are also inspired by some Armenian figures, such as Sayat Nova, an 18th century poet/troubadour and the priest, composer and music ethnologist Komitas Vartabed from the late 19th and early 20th century. Then there are the musicians closer to our times, such as Ian Curtis from Joy Division, Jim Morrison of The Doors, and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. Non-musicians like Khalil Gibran or men like Gandhi also inspire me personally. There are too many others to name them all.
When you're listening to music just for pleasure, do you generally listen to traditional or modern music? What's in your CD collection, and what artists are your favorites at the moment?
Aret: For my part, I am pretty eclectic when it comes to listening to music. It all depends on my moods and my needs of the moment. Right now, I am re-listening to some older vinyl I still have at home that I hadn't listened in a long time: New Gold Dream and Sparkle in the Rain by Simple Minds. I am also into the title "Premonition" from them. I always come back to The Stranglers and Joy Division. I have each and every one of their albums and unedited versions. There is Magazine, Leonard Cohen, Cocteau Twins, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Damned, Wire, Spot--my first producer and the engineer behind the SST records by Black Flag, The Minutemen and the like--what he is doing these days is great, a sort of Celtic/alternative/traditional that you cannot really classify. Lately, I got a Siouxsie and The Banshees DVD that I've been watching as well. In fact, Steven Severin is still very active and doing some great film scoring with Arban, his partner in life and in music. Then there are my periods of more sacred and traditional music, like Hildegarde Von Bingen, Sister Marie Keyrouz, liturgic chants, Sufi music, etc.
What are you currently working on? Do you have any upcoming plans you can tell us about?
Aret: We are currently starting to work on our fourth album. It is in the very early stages, and we are slowly being submerged by the first titles. They often determine what is to come. We also have a few gigs planned in the coming year. If financially it could be possible, I would like to tour the small venues in L.A., but that is another story.
www.deleyaman.com
Interview by Matthew Johnson
|
