I think my relationship with music started long before I understood it. As a child in Yerevan — walking near the 3rd Mas metro station, passing old record shops, or waiting inside the Opera House while my sister rehearsed ballet — a few seconds of sound could completely shift my world. Even the smell of that building stayed inside me. Those small moments — and a lot of them — became the quiet foundation of who I am today.

I officially began music at 11, studying piano, but classical etudes never felt like my path. What truly called me were the sounds coming from the next classroom: the traditional Armenian woodwinds. Within a year, I switched instruments, and that decision shaped my whole life.

When I entered the conservatory, I needed to work, so I began playing at weddings, funerals, and ceremonies in every region of Armenia. I learned hundreds of songs from masters of all generations — maybe even a thousand musicians over ten years. No university could teach what that period gave me. I was a student traveling everywhere by taxi — a “rich student,” as I like to joke. But truly, I’m still grateful to the woodwinds for carrying me through that chapter.

Later, with friends, I started jamming and mixing everything without genre boundaries. Improvisation became my home. Even though I studied traditional instruments, I was always searching for my own way of playing. My professors weren’t always happy about that, but I felt free.

After the army, I became curious about electronic music. I opened GarageBand without any knowledge and just started playing with sounds. Honestly, I still do many things by instinct — if you love something deeply, the learning comes naturally. Step by step, I met friends who were masters of electronic music, and they inspired me to explore even further.

Through all of this, the woodwinds never left me. They are not tools — they are companions. I don’t try to use them; I try to serve them. For me, loving an instrument is like loving a person: the deeper you go, the more respect you feel.

I believe in long relationships with the things I love — with sound, with instruments, with people. Every day, even with one small step, I try to go deeper.

Photographer: Lush Hakobyan