In 2022, thousands of Artsakh residents put their goals, plans, and dreams on hold for an indefinite period. Azerbaijan closed the only road connecting Artsakh with the outside world, plunging 120,000 Artsakh residents into a humanitarian disaster. Amid shortages of food, medicine, and basic necessities, guitarist Robert Melkumyan continued to play music and write songs in Stepanakert.

During the blockade, he took university entrance exams online and was admitted to three universities—one in Denmark and two in the United Kingdom. In 2023, Artsakh was depopulated. Following the Azerbaijani attack, 120,000 Artsakh residents were forced to leave their homes and all their belongings behind. Robert took his guitar and the songs he had written and left for London to continue his studies.

Life in London is expensive. Alongside his studies, Robert works in a café, and in the evenings he performs in pubs. The songs he began writing in Artsakh and was forced to leave unfinished, he continues to work on in London.

A few months ago, he graduated from the London Institute of Contemporary Music and released his first album, titled "All It Takes".