[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”3px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-7px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Young Georgian Lolitaz (Georgia), Tbilisi, Georgia \u00a9 Onnik James Krikorian 2017<\/em><\/p>\n Having moved\u00a0from the UK to Armenia in 1998 to work for the\u00a0United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) it was only natural that I started to take\u00a0an interest in an\u00a0alternative music scene that, while not really existing, was emerging at the time. From 2001 onwards\u00a0the situation\u00a0started to change, and bands such as\u00a0Gyumri’s The Bambir<\/a>\u00a0really grabbed my attention. By the mid-2000s other bands started to emerge and those that had been dormant \u00a0during the electricity shortages of the 1990s began to re-surface.<\/p>\n By the mid-2000s, Tbilisi-based bands such as The Young Georgian Lolitaz started to perform at the some of the festivals occasionally\u00a0staged in Yerevan although audiences in general remained small<\/a>. Nevertheless, for a while at least, local rock promoters said the Armenian capital boasted more potential venues than in Georgia. There were also some interesting bands materializing in Azerbaijan and so I would naturally cover those too, albeit from afar. Incidentally, the now defunct Unformal<\/a>\u00a0particularly showed promise.<\/p>\n In a sense, the alternative music scene in transitional countries offered a\u00a0window into the lives\u00a0of those youth forming what\u00a0could be described as a\u00a0small but growing progressive segment of society. Interestingly,\u00a0Azerbaijan in particular\u00a0offered a dynamic\u00a0politically charged\u00a0rap scene with many rappers speaking out about the situation in the country. Shirband<\/a>, in particular, articulated\u00a0political messages\u00a0<\/a>, a tradition now\u00a0continued by Jamal Ali<\/a> albeit in exile from\u00a0Germany.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/16826060_1334450466640967_407797042185290092_o.jpg” _builder_version=”4.10.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Ahmedowsky Trio (Azerbaijan), Tbilisi, Georgia \u00a9 Onnik James Krikorian 2017<\/em><\/p>\n Fast forward to today. Not only am I now based in Tbilisi, but the Georgian alternative music scene has grown significantly and probably boasts more bands and venues than either Yerevan or Baku. There remain problems with local groups finding adequate venues to perform their music in, of course, but the situation\u00a0is better. More noticeably, however, there have been more bands from\u00a0Azerbaijan performing here. Last year, for example, saw DiHaj play at Tbilisi’s Backstage 76<\/a> and there’s also been DedeBaba and the Ahmedowsky Trio at the same venue alone.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.10.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]