Serj Tankian - Interview by Sharina Parsottam

 Photo's by Honor Clare

With a man of his calibre, it was a privilege to interview System Of A Down frontman and current solo artist Serj Tankian.

Serj Tankian's long awaited Elect The Dead Symphony album, performed with our very own 70-piece Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra is available next week as a CD/DVD package. Fortunately for us, in Tankian's busy schedule he was able to squeeze in an interview with Libel Music at Ponsonby's Fusion Cafe.

In the half hour with Serj we discussed the Elect The Dead Symphony, New Zealand residency, the next upcoming album, his chat with the Dalai Lama, coffee shops, The F.C.C, what's in store for him in the coming years and so much more.



Sharina Parsottam: What has been happening in the world of Serj Tankian the last few months?

Serj Tankian: The last few months I have been more than anything focusing on my next solo record, which I finished recording actually and so I'm going to be mixing next month. Yeah, very excited about it. It's a wild, interesting juggernaut of sounds and colours. It's electronic, orchestral, jazz and rock all at once and a really really huge impact to the sound that I can't wait to play for people cause it's something that I've never heard before, let alone done.


How did you manage to hook up with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and how did the idea come about?

A couple of years ago, I got an email from my friend Boh Runga and she had worked with the APO. Someone at the APO, Jules Clemens had enquired about doing a collaboration with me so she basically put us in touch with them and then from there on we started plotting and planning, and put it all together doing the orchestrations until the show. Yeah so it was really great, it was an interest from their part that extended.


How long was that process?

Probably over a year, yeah.


Are you thinking about touring the Elect The Dead Symphony?

Yes, yes I am actually going to be touring at least parts of the Elect The Dead Symphony. We have about 7-8 shows in Europe right now set up with different orchestras, all over Europe. Setting up some in the States as well now, it's really interesting that the one-off show with an orchestra is turning into a whole bunch of different orchestras around the world. It's quite exciting.


Is it true that you want to do another show with the APO here?

Yes we've been talking about it, we just couldn't find the right time frame for this year. I'm writing an instrumental, classical, jazz symphony. A whole new thing. No vocals, it's strictly an orchestra piece. And the APO were interested in doing that but the timing's really not working out because of my crazy busy schedule over the next year. So we're still looking into maybe doing it in 2012.


So how are you enjoying New Zealand, do you get much downtime here?

Yeah! I love coming here and hanging out at my house. I got residency a few years back and I've been here for about 4 or 5 years as a resident. No, 3 years as a resident actually, but been here for 4 or 5 years back and forth between LA and Auckland.


Have you ventured out of Auckland?

Oh yeah of course. I have done extensive driving on the South Island. Been to Nelson, Picton, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown and of course Wanaka. In the North I have kind of centered around Auckland and all the suburbs. I've gone up to the Bay of Islands. I haven't really gone south a lot as far as from Auckland, so that'll be our next trip. I love going to Waiheke Island, it's beautiful. I venture out more in New Zealand than in California and I've lived there for fucking 30 years!


Do you surf or snowboard here?

I don't, no. I like boogie boarding and body surfing but I've got to learn how to surf though.


A decade ago, did you think you could one day work with an orchestra? Did you always hope it to be in the plans?

A decade ago I probably didn't even think about it. But a few years back you know, the more I started getting into composing for film, the more an orchestra became a reality. Now it's a daily reality.


Are there any other things musically you want to accomplish in the next 10 years?

Oh yeah, lots. There's a lot of forms of music that I haven't really messed around with. In a perfect world, I'm thinking after the next solo record which is a hybrid of different genres. I'm thinking of releasing a jazz record or maybe a live jazz record and then a dance record. Epic you know, you've got to do it all.
I'm doing a musical right now as well so that's a first for me. I want to do more film composition. I'm putting out a second poetry book and I have plans for a museum project and a full length non-fiction novel.


Wow, so you have already started those?

Yes. The novel and the museum project are so far concepts. Theorizing and putting it together. The rest of it is all reality. It's happening.


What is the concept of the novel, is it a biography?

No it's going to refer to the intersection between justice and spirituality. It's going to start off with a Dalai Lama quote cause I got to meet the Dalai Lama a couple of years ago and asked him two questions so it's going to start with that.


What were the questions?

One was a really tough question and he only had like 5 minutes left so he laughed at me and goes "Thanks dude!" Well he didn't say those words but he made me sound like that you know. The first question was an easier one, I said "What do you think is the symmetry or the intersection between spirituality and justice?" and the second question I asked him had to do with the end of civilization. I said "Well in my opinion, what we know of civilization has already ended it's term, our accelerated rate of destruction, national resources coupled with our accelerated population rate makes the current way that we live, the number of cars we can have, the number of pollution and carbons we can emit in the world impossible. It just doesn't scientifically. So what's next?" And he's like "5 minutes huh? Thanks dude!" That was cool. He had some very simple but profound answers actually. I wont tell you what they are. You'll have to read the book, two years from now. [laughs]


What were your stand out tracks from the Elect The Dead Symphony?

I like the way 'Blue' came out, cause I have never really played that song live and especially with an orchestra. I loved how the orchestra complimented the dark tones of that song. 'Empty Walls' came out really great because the audience were singing along and it was just like an anthemic kind of ending. I liked they way 'Beethoven's Cunt' came out, I thought that was really fun, especially the conductor announcing. Yeah it was fun. 'Falling Stars' came out really nice too, another song I had never done live.


Do you have a recording studio at your place in Piha?

I do not have a recording studio but I have a piano, I've got an old Estey pump organ and I've got my computer inbox and a bunch of guitars and pedals and what not so I have enough to write with and record with in terms of the primary stage of recording. I have a full on pro studio in LA next to my house. Thats where I do most of my production stuff.


Have you finished writing 'Music Without Borders'?

I've recorded all of it, not just written but it's pretty much done. And I'm not sure we're going to call it that. It's just a temporary working title, 'Music Without Borders'. There's a couple of ideas as far as title's we're throwing around. One is 'Imperfect Harmonies' which would be interesting. I looked it up, I googled it and it was an article on Music and Physics and had to do with NASA in some way and I'm like wow, I'm in!


What are 'The Flying Cunts of Chaos' doing now without you?

A lot of the guys are on tour with different artists, some of them. Dan actually worked with Rick Rubin on a bunch of records that Rick's been doing, like Kid Rock and the Metallica Live record and what not. Mario and Troy have been on tour with different artists and Erwin's making some different records and doing some production stuff with different artists.


Will you get back together with them eventually?

Yeah when we're doing live shows for the next solo record, I definitely want them to be playing the live instrumentation and then we're thinking of hiring local string sections and brass sections to compliment the live band feel, so we get a bit both for the record.


If you weren't a musician, what career path would you have taken?

That's another question that I think Moby asked the Dalai Lama. He said "If you weren't the Dalai Lama, what would you be?" He said something to do with the environment. That was another answer which was cool. If I wasn't a musician, god I've done so many things before music that I could've been anything. You know. I've been in retail, I've been in wholesale, I've been in manufacturing, I've owned my own software company before doing music so I don't know where I'd be. Cause every 5 years my life took me elsewhere. So I don't know. I could be you, I could be a journalist. I could've been that, I could've been a lawyer, I thought of doing that for a while actually, being a lawyer.
Sometimes you have to go through the most extreme things that is not you to realise what is you. You have to try some of the things that you know is not you but you could do, for you to realise what your vision is sometimes.


How did you get into music?

I started playing a Casio keyboard in college. I got into music quite late. I didn't know music was my calling until I was 24-25, so I was just fiddling around and just really enjoyed how it kind of took my mind off my studies, work or whatever I was doing.


What New Zealand musicians would you possibly be interested in working with?

I'm doing a song with Bic Runga for her next record, it's one of my songs that I wrote about 8 years ago actually. At the Watergate Hotel of all places in Washington DC. They had a nice old piano there. I've done a song with Boh Runga on her record and I got a chance to jam with Crowded House last year when I was here. They were just jamming and writing stuff in Neil Finn's studio in Newton so that was fun. I like the dub stuff, I wouldn't mind doing something with Salmonella Dub or something like that, that would be cool. I did a song with Blue King Brown which is Aussie not Kiwi, but they're a very dub kind of sound. A really cool band, I like them as well.


They're coming here soon for WOMAD.

Oh they're coming here soon? Oh cool, when is that? Do you know?


March. March 12.

Oh cool, I won't be here. But they're cool, they've got a new record coming out soon as well.


Are there any artists you're currently producing music for that you want to plug?

Ah! There's an artist that we're managing actually for the first time cause we realised the music, as far as putting out music as a label we were losing all of our distributors, they were going under. So we felt we'd help out in the same way without necessarily planning to put out their record in case we found a deal better for them than we could give them. So there's a band called 'Visa' from Los Angeles that we've been working with and they're really an interesting mix of Eastern European, rock, punk and kind of Russian and Greek. Yeah, amazing influences. I don't want to say like 'Gogol Bordello' but I think fans of Gogol Bordello and the Seattle band called 'Kultur Shock' that Billy Gould puts out, the bassist for Faith No More. He's got a label called 'Koolarrow', they're in that vain of music. It's really really interesting.


Are there any other artists you're digging at the moment?

Digging... hmmm.. there's a lot. I come across a lot of music. I get a lot of music and usually I'll listen once and... frisbee time! But you know, once in a while you'll come across something that you'll hang on to. It's rare. But I've been working on so much music that honestly a lot of people ask me "What are you listening to?" Assuming that I listen to music. I rarely have the time to listen to music cause I'm creating it, it's like working in a coffee shop and then going home and making coffee. It kind of doesn't work sometimes.


How did you like the Auckland Town Hall as a venue?

I thought it had a great sound and a great vibe. Very classic kind of feel to it and it's a beautiful place. I'm glad we did it there over any other venue in Auckland.


Is there anything special you do before a show?

There's two things I like doing. One is relaxing, one is laughing. Relaxing and laughing both tend to cool down and let you stretch your throat and laughing let's you stretch your spirit and puts a positive kind of vibe in your eyes as you go out there. So I like cracking jokes. If I'm with the FCC guys we'll just crack jokes, it doesn't take too much to do that. It just kind of puts yourself into a good place, and there are days you're not, not every show when you're touring and you're playing everyday. Some days you're in a shit mood or you're sick and you get out there and you just have to, those are the days that makes you professional. Those are the days where you have to just go "Alright, let's do it", and just do it.


Where do you think the best coffee in Auckland city is?

That's a really good question! Well I have friends at this cafe called 'Barabra' on the Viaduct that have Millers coffee. Millers coffee is really good as far as kiwi coffee. Columbus has pretty decent coffee, even though they're a chain. Yeah, I like their coffee.


So... the age old question, what's happening with System Of A Down? Still on an indefinite hiatus?

You tell me. There's more interesting news online than I have to give! [laughs] Yeah we're still on hiatus, we always get offers to play shows and there's always interest in the band which is a huge compliment. I personally am very thankful for it and if and when the time comes that we speak out together and do something, everyone will know, it'll be on our website. That simple. Everything else is rumours.




Serj Tankian's Elect the Dead Symphony featuring the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra CD/DVD is in stores March 8.

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