Description
This is a pre-order. It will ship on or around 10/30/26
The sixteen songs on this compilation were recorded while generational shifts occurred on opposite sides of the Asian continent: the rising actions of both Japan's bubble economy and the Soviet Union's slow-burn downfall are historically pinpointed in 1985 and reached a paradigmatic climax by 1990. Consider the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, where the sociopolitical dichotomy is even more stark. Unpacking this chronology sufficiently would require volumes; the purpose of this compilation is rather to pose a question worth solving: how did these societies produce the same audible result from opposite socioeconomic spheres – why do these compiled Soviet Armenian recordings sound so similar to Japanese city pop of the same era?
A disclaimer is owed: these reel-to-reel tapes were curated from an archive numbering tens of thousands; they stand as outliers that deviate from the majority of Soviet Armenian music on record. They’ve been selected because together they cultivate a specific atmosphere, which is a paradox of city pop itself: a canon assembled in hindsight by DJs and internet algorithms from a far messier catalog, making the comparison less intentional and more intuitive. The idea of city pop was not necessarily built as a genre with boundaries, and its curation has rather been greatly led by people’s individual perceptions of the nostalgia they all share.
Yerevan Nights honors the simple pleasures that saturate the senses to make such a relatively small city feel so big in perception, and illustrates Soviet Armenian life outside of daily service to the greater good – moments caught in the twilight hours that follow the calming sunset behind the mountains, crescendo up and down Yerevan’s bustling city streets, and peak at the glorious dawn that paints the sky with pink and lavender brushstrokes. This compilation captures the pace of Yerevan throughout all times of the day and is tailored for the occasions dedicated to friends and family that constitute an individual’s shrjapat (“social circle”). The rhythms and melodies of these songs go perfectly with a cocktail of sidewalk strolls alongside honking car horns, toasting glasses raised over boisterous laughter, and meeting familiar faces in the most unexpected places, all wrapped up in a tranquil haze of cigarette smoke that lingers until the morning light breaks and garnished with a sprinkle of sentimental heartache. The ultimate conclusion makes itself clear: the sunset behind the mountains is just as beautiful as the sunrise above the ocean's horizon.
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