Sayat Nuvo
Sayat Nuvo, the collaboration of Levon Kafafian and Augusta Morrison was inspired by the multilingual, multicultural 18th-century bard Sayat Nova.
They create soundscapes woven with prose, integrating traditional Armenian folk music and poetry with a modern eclectic experimental sound.
The Sayat Nuvo project grew out of a forced displacement, generating a series of reflections on a history of familial displacements and migrations. Sayat Nova became a point of focus for his legacy of creative nomadism and multilingual work across genres of poetry, music and spiritual practice.
Lyrics and poetry were pulled from two fourth grade Armenian literature textbooks and interpreted into new soundscapes, paired with a selection of works from Levon Kafafian’s unpublished Inheritances collection.
Հրազդան was once the artist’s mother’s schoolbook while the other was found at an Armenian church sale.
