Friday, November 20, 2009

Time Capsule: Serart

Posted on 10:26 PM by Clumpy

Serart (2003)

It's easy to like world music, but often difficult to get really enthusiastic about it. It's a given that music in foreign tongues and tones helps us to build a kinship with the human race and makes us feel cultured to boot. But it's difficult to deny the perspective barrier between an artist a hemisphere away and the listener picking up her LP on a whim. Ergo, the the thrill of exploring new cultures and sounds often subsides long before you take the disc back to the library.

But Serart is folk music unlike any other, a collaboration between famed Armenian musician Arto Tunçboyacıyan and fully half of the members of System of a Down. Despite what you may expect given this description, it's legitimately soulful and contemplative, incorporating some traditional elements as well as some modern trappings without cheating either. Serart celebrates culture and heritage while remaining fully entertaining in its own right - it's a soulful, intelligent album, well-written and produced without being overly-glossy or feeling calculating. Arto gives the project focus without repressing Serj's natural tendencies to squawk and meander appropriately, resulting in a very forward-looking record that nevertheless expresses a mostly-shared cultural heritage without alienating the Western listener.

--Dustin Steinacker

Labels: