SERJ TANKIAN RELEASES ’CINEMATIQUE SERIES’
25 TRACK OPUS SPLIT INTO TWO COLLECTIONS:
“ILLUMINATE“ & “VIOLENT VIOLINS“
Serj Tankian has just released a cornucopia of instrumental music in a two-part collection dubbed Cinematique Series: Illuminate (https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/serjtankian/cinematique-series-illuminate) and Cinematique Series: Violent Violins (https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/serjtankian/cinematique-series-violent-violins-2). With 25 tracks in total, the compositions are split into two notable stylistic assemblies-albums.
The 12 tracks that comprise Cinematique Series: Illuminate weave through classical arrangements and instrumentation, while the 13 compositions within Cinematique Series: Violent Violins find Tankian coalescing traditional cinematic compositions with a more modern approach, incorporating moody synthesizers and distorted electronica into the mix.
Writing sessions for songs from both compilations span over multiple years and as the titles amassed, the idea to craft them into proper collections was born.
Tankian explains: “Starting with Elect The Dead Symphony in 2009 I’ve been working on classical compositions and film scores while touring with various orchestras around the world. In this time I have amassed quite a large collection of classical and cinematic compositions. Some of them have been used in various film scores when appropriate and others are unreleased. The two collections here are comprised of compositions curated as records from light to dark, classical to modern, transcendent to dissonant.”
Over the past couple of weeks Tankian has been releasing videos of titles from both Cinematique Series collections almost daily across his social media channels and on YouTube. Each full suite of music videos from Illuminate (full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ZILlitDHo6LLkQQrZ1-4953j4NPnqZd) and Violent Violins (full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ZILlitDHo7KYFtN82DMe47WNifkSOZ5) is being curated into respective playlists on Tankian’s YouTube page.
Cinematique Series: Illuminate tracklist:
- Entitled
- Film Piano
- Blues
- E-Motive
- Free Thoughts
- New Like Glass
- Free The Piano
- Bellissimo Piannissimo
- Sad Romance
- Flying Phone Medley
- Snow On Ararat
- Opera Sundays
Cinematique Series: Violent Violins tracklist
- Rasputin
- Waiting For The Submarine
- Cyber Criminal
- Love At The Border
- Grieving Banner
- Spitfire Bombs
- Prelude To A Diss
- Minor Jazz
- Discovery Of Self
- Pretty Cinematique Of You
- Cinema Piano
- Play Her Piano
- Stringolopous Choir
Tankian has a few more musical releases queued up for later this year. Aug. 31 will see the release of the soundtrack for “Truth To Power,” the documentary film released in February of this year by Oscilloscope that explores Tankian’s venture into the rocky yet exciting intersection of music and activism. In mid September the soundtrack to the critically-acclaimed documentary film “I Am Not Alone“ will be released. Before year end, Tankian also plans on releasing a pair of live concert albums recorded on the heels of the release of his first solo album Elect The Dead with his backup band the FCC.
About Serj Tankian
A singer, poet, songwriter, visual artist, film producer, activist, and composer; Serj Tankian has always created music as an outlet to express his thoughts and feelings with a level of passion and consciousness that few in today’s world of music can rival. An Armenian born in Lebanon and re-rooted in Los Angeles, Tankian was introduced to the melding of cultures, ideas, and ideals from a very young age. The principles learned from this integration and adaptation have led to his understanding of the oneness of all things and have since maneuvered and transfigured into the music and art that he lives to create. As the lead singer and songwriter for System of a Down, Serj has released five studio albums, winning a GRAMMY Award in 2006 for “B.Y.O.B.” and selling over 40 million albums worldwide. Despite this success, Serj has never grown complacent with his art, always striving to open up new channels of sound and arrangement to articulate his artistic expressions. He has released five albums of solo material, beginning with 2007’s chart-topping hard rock album Elect The Dead. His sophomore solo album Imperfect Harmonies was released in 2010, followed by Harakiri in 2012. 2013 saw two distinct releases from Serj, the first being the critically acclaimed Orca Symphony No. 1, released in June of that year, followed up with the very unique Jazz-Iz Christ one month later.
Over the past few years, his time spent in the recording studio has been focused on creating musical scores and compositions for film and video game projects. Serj recently lent his vocals to a modern-day cover of Blue Öyster Cult’s rock classic “Godzilla” for the blockbuster Michael Dougherty film “Godzilla: King Of The Monsters.” He also recorded a modern version of the Armenian folk song “Sari Siroun Yar” along with the Authentic Light Orchestra for the film “The Promise,” directed by Terry George and starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac. Serj was also brought on by Survival Pictures, the producers of the film, to serve as an Executive Music Consultant.
Most recently, Tankian composed the full musical score for award winning documentary “I Am Not Alone” directed by Garin Hovannisian and the upcoming Live Nation Productions film “Truth To Power,” which chronicles Serj’s own journey through the crossroads of music and activism. In 2017, Serj composed music for Emmy nominated Intent To Destroy, a gripping film directed by award winning documentarian Joe Berlinger. That same year he created an intense score for the epic Russian action film “Furious – The Legend of Kolovrat,” followed by his 2018 musical score for award winning film “Spitak,” directed by Alexander Kott. Additionally, Tankian composed the full musical score for independent films “1915” and “The Last Inhabitant,” an original composition for Ilya Naishuller’s “Hardcore Henry” and video game musical scores for “Midnight Star” and its sequel, “Renegade,” which were created by one of the chief architects of the famed “Halo” game franchise.
Serj’s resume also includes the formation of a record label, Serjical Strike Records (established in 2001), which has released albums from many critically acclaimed artists, including Fair To Midland, Buckethead and Death By Stereo.
Along with fellow musician Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), Serj co-founded the non-profit organization Axis Of Justice in 2002, which strives to bring together musicians, music fans and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. He has also dabbled in the world of broadcasting as co-host of the Axis Of Justice Radio Network, which can be heard via Sirius Satellite Radio and KPFK in Los Angeles. With a mission of spreading diversity and understanding through music, poetry and activism, Serj Tankian will continue to surprise and enlighten those who listen to his music and hear his words.
In recent years, Tankian has split his time between holding a mic and a paintbrush, having feverishly created over 60 pieces of art since 2013. His journey into the world of fine art began with his Disarming Time Musical Paintings, which were exhibited at Project Gallery in Los Angeles. Since then, he has had multiple exhibitions at galleries in both the United States and New Zealand. In 2015, his artwork was exhibited at the grand opening of New Museum Los Gatos in Northern California as part of a group exhibit that ran from May through September of that year. Most recently, Serj’s artwork was exhibited at two notable galleries in New Zealand during February and March of 2019. He just successfully wrapped up an exhibit titled “The Incandescent Pause” at Tufenkian Fine Arts in Glendale, CA that ran from July 2 – 17.
