Interview with DerHova – one of the best Armenian music producers
photo by Arthur Vardanyan
“Voxguyn!”. We are glad to have an interview with one of the best Armenian music producers, and thank you for accepting to speak for the Armenian community from Romania.
-Thank you for labelling me “one of the best Armenian music producers”. I’d also like to say thank you for inviting me to take part in this interview. It’s always interested me to do interviews for different Armenian communities around the world.
2. Tell us more about you.
-I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. My grandparents are from Western Armenia and Cilicia. During the Genocide they all moved to Syria, where my parents were eventually born. I was always interested in the arts even as a child, and at 16 years old I signed my first recording contract. I haven’t had much musical education, I’d even go as far to say that whatever musical education I’ve had hasn’t given me much in my career. I released my first vinyl album at 17, and in the past 19 years I’ve released about 300 songs, which I’ve composed and arranged/produced under various stage names. In terms of musical style, I’ve mostly composed ‘dance’ songs with its different branches, such as techno, house, rave, and so on. From 1992-1997 I was involved in a very popular Canadian group. Together, with my vocalist schoolmate, we released various hits, won various awards, and more. The group was called Temperance. In 2002, I moved from Toronto to Yerevan. I continued working with artists from abroad, until 2006. That year I arranged and produced my first Armenian work, which eventually won the Hit Of The Year award at the Armenian National Music Awards. The song was called “Qami Pchi” performed by the group “HAYQ”.
3. You made all Armenians happy in 2008 with your amazing song “Qele, Qele” sung by Sirusho. How did the idea come about, and what inspired you to make such a great song?
-In 2007, I had written and arranged/produced a song for singer Sofi Mkheyan. The song “Ore Yev Nerkan” again won the Hit Of The Year award. Armenian State TV H1 asked me to write a song for Sirusho in the same style, meaning something energetic, with Armenian musical elements. I composed “Qele, Qele”, and thought of the word “Qele” myself, which I eventually had to convince both H1 and Sirusho that after doing a lot of research I think I chose the best hook for a song. Because we had decided that the song would be sung in English, and because the song didn’t really have any real Armenian influences, I had decided that the song title had to be Armenian.
4. Do you have some favorite artists?
-I listen to many different styles of music, and I believe the best song arrangers/producers need to listen to different kinds of music. I like rock, dance, R&B, ethnic, soundtracks, and old Armenian popular songs. I always find something interesting in all forms of music. Over the years I’ve had a few favourite artists, such as Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Peter Gabriel, Hans Zimmer, Brian Transeay, Khachatur Avetisyan, and more.
5. I think you already know that Eurovision Junior 2011 will be held in Armenia. What do you think about that?
-First, I’d like to say that I’m very proud that Armenia will be hosting the Junior Eurovision Song Contest this year. Vladimir is a very talented singer, and Diana Mnatsakanyan’s work as the head of the Armenian delegation, was finally paid off. Diana worked very hard over the years to present Armenia in Eurovision in a very professional way. Also, I’m very proud that I had some involvement in the success of the victory. I had arranged/produced “Mama”. I hope we will do a great job at the end of this year, presenting the best Junior Eurovision Song Contest in history.
6. Have you ever been to Romania?
-I haven’t been to Romania, YET! But honestly, it’s always interested me. If I ever get a chance, I will definitely come out that way, and also meet the Armenian community in your country.
7. What future plans do you have?
-I am collaborating with Vladimir Arzumanyan again, there will be more collaborations with song-writer Vahram Petrosyan. I have some interesting projects with singer Emmy, including music videos for the songs we are working on. I will be spending half my summer in Canada, and will be working in my studio there. I have plans to collaborate with some artists abroad. Once I return to Armenia, I will see what new projects I’ll be working on.
8 .Do you have a message for the readers of Ararat & Nor Ghiank?
-I’d like to say I’m very happy that Armenian communities around the world have these types of channels to keep up to date with what’s going on in Armenia, as well as updates with Armenian cultural happenings. Because I’ve lived outside of Armenia for 25+ years, I know very well how hard it is to maintain that connection. I’d also like to say thank you to all the people who read my interview.
official site http://www.derhova.com
Mcrtici Baghdasarian
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Nice interview. He’s a great producer who’s changed so much in Armenian pop music and paved way for new song producers to experiment more.