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Interview with Serj Tankian in the Studio |
Posted by ZAk on Thursday, August 09, 2007 - 12:31 PM
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 SYSTEM
OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian has been talking exclusively to
Kerrang! about his forthcoming solo album, ‘Elect The Dead’, due out
late October via Serjical Strike. With System on an extended hiatus for the
foreseeable future, Tankian has been hard at work writing, recording and
producing the record at his home studio in Los Angeles.
“It’s definitely a rock record,” explains Tankian in between putting the final
touches to the album mix. “It’s a moving album with lots of up’s and down,
starts and stops and tempo changes. It’s depressing but it’s uplifting, it’s
jazzy but it rocks. Making it felt similar to making the first System record – I
felt the exact same energy, that sense of open experimentation, the idea that
‘Wow, I’m actually doing this…’ I was living, eating and shitting this music
every day. I’d wake up in the morning and the thought of working on a song was
so powerful I couldn’t focus on anything else.”
WHAT CAN LISTENERS EXPECT FROM THE ALBUM?
“Well, it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard before, even System. Maybe
there are the odd similarities on the heavier moments, which are inevitable
because of my voice, or maybe within the politics of the lyrics of a song such
as ‘The Unthinking Majority’. But even then, the music is more trippy. I
originally wanted to call the album ‘The Flying Cunts Of Chaos’ but strangely
everyone discouraged me…”
HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO DO A SOLO RECORD?
“Yes. But it’s funny though because I came to music late, so I never expected to
have a career in music. My parents tried to convince to take up an instrument as
a kid and my Dad is a beautiful, beautiful singer – my voice is shit compared to
his. They bought me a guitar that I never played because I was always more into
my studies. Then in college something switched inside of me, I took up the
keyboard and I went at it like someone who has never eaten before who has
suddenly been presented with unlimited food. I went nuts for music. And now here
I am making a solo record…”
HAVE YOU FOUND WORKING ALONE TO BE A LIBERATING EXPERIENCE?
“Absolutely. With System you’re working towards a common shared goal and you’re
utilizing four different energies that you wouldn’t by yourself. For example,
Daron (Malakian, guitarist) would want to bring in his own songs and have a
certain amount of control and all of that stuff. So there are always varying
opinions, tastes and decision-making capabilities to consider and we have done
that with five albums over ten years, but now I’m able to do something that I
don’t have to compromise on at all. Not that System Of A Down have ever been a
compromising band of course, it’s just that there are four opinions to consider,
whereas I feel now that the sky is the limit. I feel this album has no barriers
between the listener and me. It’s more direct.”
ISN’T THERE A DANGER YOU WILL OVER-INDULGE WHEN YOU SELF-PRODUCE?
“At first I was sceptical because you have to adopt different roles
simultaneously. You have to learn to self-edit and fortunately I was able to be
very critical. An example would be a song called ‘Lie Lie Lie’, which is a funny
a song but I had some very serious lyrics to it. Man, I went in there five
fucking times trying to make that song great, but it just wasn’t working. Then I
realized the lyrics were way too serious for such a silly song. So I ripped them
up, threw them on the floor and went in and did it all on the fly, just having
fun and creating it all again from scratch. In the end the song became this
really crazy, humorous drama. And you have to do that. You have to be critical
and keep changing things until it sounds right.”
DO YOU PLAN TO TOUR ‘ELECT THE DEAD’?
“I’m actually in the process of putting together a band right now and we’re
arranging a promotional schedule for the rest of the year. Then in 2008 we want
to tour and play festivals. System was a band’s band, but this is more like
having a backing band with some friends who play great instruments. It’ll be a
fun adventure and I hope to try things I have never tried before – whether
that’s in terms of doing publicity or the places I will play. I want to venture
further out there than I have in the past.”
YOU TURN 40 AROUND ABOUT THE TIME OF THE ALBUM’S RELEASE. DO YOU STILL APPROACH
TOURING THE WORLD WITH THE SAME ENTHUSIASM?
“Any time that you’re home for a while working on a record or whatever, you tend
to nest. Then when the record is done you have to break out of that, and touring
becomes fun…for a while, at least. David Bowie once said that things become
redundant for him after the first two weeks of touring, which was interesting.
The thing that stops me from getting too nervous about it all is: it’s my
fucking choice. It’s my record, my label, my production, my decisions. I can
only blame myself if I don’t like it. And if things aren’t working or ideas seem
redundant, I’ll change them.”
ARE YOU IN TOUCH WITH THE REST OF SYSTEM MUCH AT THE MOMENT?
“Sure. I talk with John (Dolmayan, drums) once in a while. He played some drums
on the heaviest song on the record – he’s instantly recognizable because even
when he plays mellow he’s heavier than everyone else. He’s a monster. Brain (aka
Bryan Mantia) from Primus also played some drums on the record. I caught up with
Shavo (Odadjian, bass) recently and heard from Daron a couple of weeks ago. I
think we’re all focused on our own projects right now, all working like mad.”
IS IT ALSO TRUE YOU HAVE RECENTLY LEGALLY BECOME A CITIZEN OF NEW ZEALAND?
“Yes, after recording the album I withdrew and took off there for three months,
which I had to do to gain citizenship. I’m such a crazy workaholic that it was
hard stepping away from my work in LA, but it was great because it allowed me to
reflect. It made me think ‘Wow man, I have this amazing life’. To be able to
have made a lot of my dreams come true is amazing and from here on in it’s all
gravy. I get to do what I want to do my way without compromise or negotiation.
It’s a greater position of strength than I’ve ever had and listening to the
record now it feels like a fun trip!”
published on Kerrang! magazine. word by Ben Myers
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Comments
vitaminfromthesky
09.08.07, 14:34
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great interview, damn, i hope in tour John will be there too... get the back SOAD !!!!!
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musicman123
09.08.07, 15:28
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i am really excited for elect the dead and scars on broadway, its not system but im really excited about hearing how serj and daron do music on their own, cant wait, now having said that i know i will be really upset if this hiatus really turns out to be a breakup, still excited tho, cant wait!!!!!!!!!!
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flavia_tankian
09.08.07, 16:23
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Nice interview :D
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Aciid_drop
09.08.07, 17:23
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Awesome interview,,the flying cunts of chaos seems cool :D
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SOAGolfeR21
09.08.07, 17:24
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"Venture out futher than I have before" Awesome. Maybe he'll come to my college town?
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tiffanyevett
09.08.07, 17:38
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i think thatwas a great interview aswell, shit, well i hope the tour goes well and i hope john has fun going with serj, lol, well it is good that daron doing good, but busy, wow, i wish them all good luck, lol
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The.Harlots.Roulette
09.08.07, 18:01
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"The Flying Cunts of Chaos" :o New. Fucking. MySpace. Name. Serj is inspirational to listen/watch, but uh, it's also hard to keep from smiling when he talks or sings sometimes. *sniggle* "He's a monster." Oh yeah...
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mom45
09.08.07, 18:15
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I originally wanted to call the album ‘The Flying Cunts Of Chaos’ but strangely everyone discouraged me…” Too funny! Awesome interview! Everyone should enjoy what they do as much as this incredible man. But he's been teasing us too much. It's time to pre-release another song. October is too long to wait. *pouts*
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loly
09.08.07, 18:25
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Awesome interview!!!
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Wassim
09.08.07, 19:38
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hopefully he comes to Desert Rock in Dubai...and headlines it! that would be amazing!!!
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Moonette
09.08.07, 19:41
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Great Interview. ^_~
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twstedlgc
09.08.07, 19:45
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Brian---I hope he does, too! Doubtful though! ..At least Chicago.
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ToniaX
09.08.07, 20:09
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Cool interview.... "and heard from Daron a couple of weeks ago." hm.........
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Boozeclues
09.08.07, 21:48
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cant wait! maybe he'll get john, daron or shavo to join him every once in a while on stage.
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kian@soadfans
09.08.07, 22:54
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I can't wait to see how Serj wants to create musics on his own,individually.But I cannot deny I want the old SOAD back more than anything...
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ang+serj
09.08.07, 23:20
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Awesome interview. System Of A Down will be back. And eventhough they are very busy and focused on there sideprojects it's good to know they are hanging out with eachother and helping out with eachothers sideprojects. Thats why I know System Of A Down will be back some day.:D And I can't wait of Serj's album.:D
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freeman2228
10.08.07, 01:47
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is it just me, or does this seem more and more like the old serj? its like he's back and ready to take on the world... no more being proper... just back to a slap in the face... i love it, its so refreshing
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fro17
10.08.07, 03:41
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it sounded like to me he was kinda bashing Daron there for wanting to have a little control
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