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Carpet Jam is an online platform showcasing the work of Armenian musicians around the world. It was created three years ago and currently has 27,700 followers on YouTube, featuring more than 150 videos of around 300 musicians worldwide. The idea of Carpet Jam is simple: it aims to create a musical bridge between Armenia and the diaspora, helping us understand one another better and bringing more opportunities to the field of contemporary music in Armenia. However, it all started from a very different need.
I was born in Tehran, Iran and left for the U.S. when I was 19. Six months after I’d left, the Islamic Revolution happened, and I’ve never been back to Iran since then. Immersed in the rich musical culture of my birthplace, I developed an early passion for writing music. But life took me in a different direction towards construction and business. Only decades later was I finally free to pursue my creative endeavors. That’s when I decided to come to Armenia for the second time in 2019. I loved it so much that I even bought a piece of land and was planning to develop a senior housing project in the country, but COVID hit and I was soon stuck in quarantine isolation.
To ward off the boredom, I went out and bought some things to get me through the lonely hours – wine and spices to experiment with cooking and a guitar, in case cooking didn’t work out. I couldn’t remember the last time I held a guitar. There were some at home, but they casually hung on walls like decorative souvenirs of my teenage dreams. It wasn’t that my parents forbade me to play, but they warned me that being a Mutreb (musician) was not very respectable in Iran and would make it difficult to make a living.
Stuck at home in Yerevan, I had little to do but ruminate on these memories of my abandoned artistic aspirations. Everything looked so strange, empty, and apocalyptic that it was hard to imagine what the future held for me. I had no idea what the next turn would be and felt lost, like a boat in the open sea. That’s when the songs started flowing in. Seventeen songs, to be exact. I never thought I could write a song and I had no idea if they were any good.
Soon, some small cafes started reopening. There weren’t many people around, but I did meet a trumpet player, Hayk Ghazaryan, whom I approached for feedback on my songs. He said they “sounded great” and suggested I record them. He also mentioned that since all music venues were closed, many of the musicians in town were free and would be keen to take part in recording my songs.
The recording process was thrilling, especially when talented artists like Gor Sujyan came to do the vocals for some of my songs. I was lucky to find gifted young people like Susie Hunna (Hunanyan), who made important contributions to the production of the tracks. The first rush of creative excitement was fulfilling, but I soon began to question what should happen next… Had I reached my limit?
“And now,” my friend Hayk said, “you need some music videos.”
It seemed like the logical next step since so much music today is consumed through video. The guys helped me find a good production team to create around ten music videos. I kept learning new things, like how to edit, prepare for a shoot, and come up with inventive ideas. Everything was new and wild for me. Not long after, I posted the fruits of my labor on Youtube and anxiously waited for the public response. The feedback was quick and heartening, and one of my songs even aired on the radio.
Again, I felt on top of the world, but the euphoric moment soon gave way to nagging questions about the aim of it all. Was this a little ego trip that would end with the realization of my teenage dreams? How far could or should I take my creative ambitions? Who were they for anyway?
As I searched for answers, I started meeting more musicians and realized one thing: they had very few places to showcase their music and work. Despite the seemingly infinite possibilities of online networks and platforms, local musicians had limited visibility and avenues for production and promotion. There are basically just a handful (if any) of music labels or agencies in Armenia that can help aspiring artists get a foothold in the industry, which really impedes the development of the overall scene. So, I decided to do something about it. That’s when the idea of Carpet Jam emerged.
The experience of getting my own songs produced and released along with the wonderful team that gradually evolved during this process, convinced me that we could help bring other talents to the public’s attention if we pooled our efforts and united around a common goal. It would be a pan-Armenian destination for aspiring musicians and a place for worldwide audiences to discover exciting new talent.
At first, I was almost begging artists to come to the studio so we could record them and make videos. People were naturally suspicious about being part of my crazy plan. After all, I basically asked them to come in so I could make a record and a music video for them for free, since Carpet Jam––that is me––covered all the expenses. We made our base at the Alpha Sound studio at the Composer’s House in Yerevan, where all the recording and mastering is done, and most of the videos are shot. It’s a simple, fast, streamlined, and low-budget approach that forces us to be more inventive with the limited resources we have and allows more musicians to get their songs out there.
Aside from “rabiz”, there were no genre limitations. The only condition was that we’d record original music, except for some contemporary reinterpretations of classics such as Komitas and Sayat-Nova. Very soon, news of our little project spread. Now, I receive almost daily requests from emerging artists from all parts of the world who want to be a part of Carpet Jam. It was incredibly fulfilling to see how my small, self-financed platform brought people together and helped kick-start their careers. The public also responded enthusiastically, embracing the story of a builder who decided to pursue his teenage dream at the age of sixty.
Even though the project is relatively young, it has already helped launch the careers of a number of emerging artists, such as Susie Hunna. After recording with Carpet Jam at just 18, Susie went on to form her own band and became a very popular performer on many stages in Yerevan. Other mega-talented youngsters who’ve debuted with us, such as Susie Sirak and Jeannie (just 15 years old), are bound to become major stars in the near future.
In some sense, Carpet Jam is a classic tale of not abandoning your dreams and being unafraid to make a fresh start, regardless of age. For me, this journey is a reminder that at a certain point, we are no longer just people with dreams to chase, but also people with resources to share for the common good. Having such privileges creates a responsibility towards the community. Nothing is more important than building the ties and networks that bind us and support our nation’s cultural development. Personally, few things have been as rewarding as giving young, aspiring people the opportunities I didn’t have at their age. This platform gave me direction, purpose, and a mission. It allowed me to relive a dream version of my life while becoming part of something much bigger than myself.
With over 27,000 Youtube subscribers, Carpet Jam has become a growing cultural phenomenon that continues to evolve in many different directions. One focus is creating more channels for young local and diasporan talents to share their work. I’m also focusing on villages and rural areas in Armenia, addressing their music schools’ needs for equipment and networks.
All of this takes a lot of effort and resources, but I believe that if you do the job with love and commitment, failure isn’t an option.
ARTINERARY: July 6-20
The cultural high point of the year is definitely peaking in the next couple of weeks with the opening of the 21st Golden Apricot International Film Festival with its usual roster of must-see films and... uhum... controversial guests. Finding the gems, or maybe the guilty pleasures in this whirlwind of activities can be a challenge, so hopefully this guide can be of some help.
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