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Five Minutes with Serj Tankian

By Jason Sohigian, An exclusive for Hetq Online 

This virtual interview was conducted with artist/activist Serj Tankian just as he was about to hit the stage with System of a Down in Moscow. The band has been on the road as part of the Wake Up The Souls tour to raise global awareness of the Armenian Genocide. Tankian and his bandmates have been featured in numerous interviews about the tour including Reddit, Rolling Stone and NPR. 

System of a Down arrives in Yerevan on Thursday for their long-anticipated first-ever performance in Armenia. The free outdoor concert in Republic Square will be streamed on the worldwide web on April 23rd, making it their most widely viewed performance of all time. The band has a huge global following with 20 million fans on Facebook alone, so this is expected to be a huge multimedia event raising awareness of the Genocide. 

System of a Down is performing in stadiums to tens of thousands of fans on the Wake Up The Souls tour (This photo from Cologne, Germany was provided via Victims of a Down) 


System of a Down is playing a long-anticipated first-ever
performance in Armenia, a free outdoor concert in
Republic Square on April 23rd (Yerevan stage photo via
Victims of a Down)

In addition to this reunion tour, Tankian has been active in a number of other projects including the Eye for Sound interactive art exhibit, scoring music for 1915 The Movie, and composition of the new song 100 Years. He will also be participating in a Musical Town Hall Meeting at the Tumo Center with Tigran Mansurian and Tigran Hamasyan. 

Jason Sohigian: What are you listening to right now? 

Serj Tankian: Tigran Hamasyan’s last record Mockroot. 

JS: How do you separate your “Armenianness”from your artistry as a musician? 

ST: I don’t separate them. They are one and the same. 

JS: Why do you feel compelled to educate people about the Armenian Genocide? 

ST: Because Turkey’s denial is an ongoing injustice that affects not just Armenians but those who think they can get away with genocide even now. Omar Al Bashir leading Sudan and not being in ICC [International Criminal Court] custody is a great example. The world has still not learned its lesson on genocide. 

JS: Do you think music and politics should be mutually exclusive? 

ST: Not necessarily. Music is a narrative expression of our times. Politics is a part of that picture. 

JS: Who is your target audience in spreading awareness? 

ST: Everyone in the world. 

JS: How do you view the significance of the centennial, and the impact that the Kardashians’ visit as well as the Pope’s declaration about the Genocide has had? 

ST: I think everyone is pitching in to lift the beast of denial together with the crane of truth.Arguably, more has been done in a few days to spread awareness of the Armenian Cause than has been accomplished in the last 50 years. 

JS: What else needs to be done, where do we go from here regarding combatting Genocide denial by the Turkish government? 

ST: International courts, diplomatic pressure on allies, Turkish courts, conferences, setting up of museums, recognition legislation, more art, music, films. 

JS: Do you think reparations for the Genocide is a realistic expectation? 

ST: Yes. Recognition without justice is offensive. 

System of a Down performs P.L.U.C.K., its song about the Armenian Genocide, followed by Sardarabad at The Forum in Los Angeles (Fan video) 

Comments (2)

KanyeKardashyan
Kim has more followers and so does Kanye but I am rooting for SOAD. Every vote counts! They were much stronger as a group than after when they disbanded. Looking forward to the screams. Oh yes, and we also need more books and thinkers, not just film and music. We need deep thinkers as much as sound bytes.
Daron of SOAD
A poor review of Tankian's soundtrack from yesterday's New York Times. Pooh pooh on the Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/movies/review-1915-a-ghostly-evocation-of-bygone-slaughter.html?_r=0 Yes, SOAD was stronger before they split up. Nice to see them back together for the centennial. Sooo looking forward to Daron, the real creative thrust and force behind SOAD. He just gives you the music and no marketing or showmanship involved.

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