“Composing is what I love most from what I do. Each genre has a unique expression that you cannot supplant with another. All the records co-inspire each other though they are not tied conceptually in any way to another.” WayRecordsInspireExpressionUniqueGenreTiedComposing Author:Serj Tankian
“'Elect the Dead' is a rock record that takes you on a journey with different types of genres integrated, different lyrical themes digested, and many fun and colorful moments to enjoy.” DifferentMomentsFunEnjoyRecordsJourneyRocksTypeGenreThemeIntegratedColorfulLyrical Author:Serj Tankian
“I've always worked on all different types of music, some with specific project goals and deadlines and some not. Sometimes I would write a piece of music that is almost like a film score or weird electro pieces, wherever the muse took me, and I still do that.” WritingStillsDifferentSometimesFilmGoalPiecesTypeProjectsScoreMuseDeadlineDifferent Types Of MusicFilm Scores Author:Serj Tankian
“I've got my own studio, and I've got four- to five-hundred unreleased tracks. I've got stuff that's electronic, orchestral, jazz, I've got rock, I've got metal, you know, I don't have polka.” KnowsStuffMy OwnFiveFourRocksHundredJazzTrackStudiosMetalsPolka Author:Serj Tankian
“If you allow for a purely capitalistic society, without any type of regulation at all, you will get one monopoly that will eat all of the smaller fish and own everything, and then you'll have zero capitalism, zero competition - it would just be one giant company.” IfsCompanyTypeCapitalismCompetitionFishesGiantsZeroRegulationMonopoly Author:Serj Tankian
“If you're using live bass versus orchestral bass, you've got to make sure that you're not stepping on the toes of the other elements, so you've got to balance it out.” IfsBalanceElementsToesVersusBass Author:Serj Tankian
“The best way to do that is to pick up a new instrument or an instrument that you don't typically write on and see where it takes you. Whether it's using an acoustic guitar, or piano, or electronics as tools, all of these lead to creating different types of songs and I used all of these methods for this record.” WayWritingDifferentUsedSongRecordsTypeCreatingPicksToolsMethodInstrumentsGuitarBest WayPianoAcousticsElectronicsAcoustic Guitar Author:Serj Tankian
“We're addicted to this concept of civilization - we can't imagine living outside of it because we've had it for 10,000 years, all of what we call history. But according to archaeologists, humanity has been on this planet for millions of years in indigenous form.” YearsHas BeensFormHumanityMillionsImaginePlanetsCivilizationConceptsIndigenousArchaeologists Author:Serj Tankian
“With most of the songs and music that I've composed, irrespective of the myriad videos made, I was always careful not to overly define the experience, leaving room for people to internalize things for themselves, making their experience more integral.” PeopleMadeSongRoomsLeavingCarefulVideo Author:Serj Tankian
“With rock music, the amount of power that you can generate, the intensity behind the intentions of your lyrics that you can really reflect through rock music - you can't do that in jazz. You can't do that with classical.” BehindsRocksAmountJazzIntentionIntensityRock Music Author:Serj Tankian
“Making two possibilities a reality. Predicting the future of things we all know. Fighting off the diseased programming Of centuries, centuries, centuries, centuries. Science fails to recognise the single most Potent element of human existence. Letting the reigns go to the unfoldings faith, Science has failed our world. Science has failed our mother earth.” KnowsWorldHumansTwoRealityEarthMotherFightingExistenceFailingCenturyPossibilityElementsProgrammingOur WorldReignRecogniseUnfoldingHuman ExistenceMother EarthPredictingDiseasedPredicting The Future Author:Serj Tankian
“We are the cause of a world that's gone wrong. Nature will survive us, we've been wrong after all. We are the cause of a world that's gone wrong. Wouldn't it be great to heal the world with only a song?” WorldSongCausesGoneSkyHealHeal The World Author:Serj Tankian
“I really feel like civilisation's already over. It's not ending but it's already done. We're all addicted to the concept that humanity equals civilisation and that's not the case. We need a global conversation to be able to decipher how we can live from this point forward. We have to redefine our relationship with our environment.” NeedsFeelsDoneAbleHumanityCasesEnvironmentConversationConceptsOver ItOur RelationshipOur EnvironmentCivilisationDecipher Author:Serj Tankian
“I've always thought of the sky as, like, an open canvas. When I was a kid and I looked at the sky, I always remember being able to daydream, just looking at the sky, being creative, being able to design things. What would happen if we had no sky? Where would we be? Well, obviously, scientifically, without an atmosphere, we'd all be dead.” IfsWellsHappensKidsAbleRememberCreativeSkyDesignAtmosphereCanvasBe CreativeDaydreaming Author:Serj Tankian
“Science fails to recognize the single most potent element of human existence...faith.” HumansExistenceFailingElementsHuman Existence Author:Serj Tankian
“I think I might write a book. I like writing. People have asked me if I would get into politics, but I think I feel a lot more effective being a representative of truth through the arts.” PeopleIfsThinkingFeelsWritingArtBookMightRepresentatives Author:Serj Tankian
“I've always tried to listen to a lot of different music from around the world.” WorldDifferentAround The WorldDifferent Music Author:Serj Tankian
“I'm a huge Beatles fan, but I've only really gotten into them as an adult.” FansHugeAdults Author:Serj Tankian
“When I was younger, I was listening to a lot of Armenian music, you know, revolutionary music about freedom and protest. In the 70s I was listening to soul and the Bee Gees and ABBA, and funk.” KnowsSoulListeningRevolutionaryProtestBeesFunkArmeniansAbbaBee Gees Author:Serj Tankian
“People always ask me 'do you think there should be more bands doing political music?' and I say 'absolutely not.'” PeopleThinkingShouldPoliticalAsksBandAsk Me Author:Serj Tankian
“Anti-depressan ts Controlling tools of your system Making life more tolerable Making life more tolerable” ToolsTolerable Author:Serj Tankian
“I'm not comfortable with just entertaining. Although I like entertaining, I also like bringing forward the truth of our times as minstrels used to in the old days.” TruthUsedComfortableOur TimeEntertainingOld DaysMinstrels Author:Serj Tankian
“In America, there's more of the question, should music be political or should it just be for entertainment purposes, whereas around the world that's not even an issue. I think people just assume that music should be everything.” PeopleThinkingWorldShouldAmericaPoliticalPurposeIssuesMusic IsAssumingEntertainmentAround The World Author:Serj Tankian
“I've worked with some great orchestras and amazing classical musicians, but I don't like the conceptualization of classical music as an elitist form of art.” ArtFormMusicianOrchestraClassical MusicElitistClassical MusiciansConceptualization Author:Serj Tankian
“My two interests are spirituality and politics. I would mesh them in some way; maybe try to figure out the politics of spirituality, or the spirituality of politics. Or maybe come up with this really crazy naive solution for the end of civilization.” WayTryingTwoEndsSpiritualityInterestCrazyFiguresCivilizationSolutionsCome UpNaiveMesh Author:Serj Tankian
“Harout Pamboukjian is one of the biggest Armenian folk singers in the world. In the '70s, he was making these records that were really Zeppelin-influenced.” WorldRecordsFolksSingersZeppelinsArmenians Author:Serj Tankian
“You can say a lot more with a poem than you can with a song, but with a song you can really be more powerful with it. You can express it a lot more powerfully.” SongPowerful Author:Serj Tankian
