I first heard the music of Deti Picasso two years ago and liked what I heard. Too often, most contemporary Armenian music falls into one of three categories — traditional, rabiz, very mediocre pop, or a combination of all three. Add to that the unfortunate tendency for most rock bands here in Armenia to content themselves with playing covers of rock classics, there are too few bands that represent anything original.

Certainly, there is little that appeals to a number of listeners that want something original that they can listen to because it’s good music rather than anything sung by an Armenian regardless of quality. I suppose we can consider System of a Down as something exceptional here, but after them, what? Well, we do have Bambir and MDP in Armenia, but they appeal to the same audience of young Armenian rockers. There is little, if nothing, else.

Which is why I love Deti Picasso from what I’ve heard so far. Raffi Meneshian, founder of Pomegranate Music and Executive Director of Yeraz Art, now offers a review of a CD by the band over at Cilicia.com’s Life in the Armenian Diaspora.

The band Deti Picasso is from Russia. Two of the members are Armenian in lead singer Gaya Harutyunyan and brother/guitar player Garen Harutyunyan. The 2004 CD “Ethnic Experiments” is sandwiched in between two other releases, 2002’s “Mesjac Ulybok” (CD Land Records), and their new 2006 release “Glubina” (Deep Movement). They are not considered “Armenian artists” in the sense that they cater to the Moscow rock/punk/experimental music scene and sing mainly in Russian. That’s their bread and butter. Like many ethnic Armenians in Europe and North America, they presumably decided to dabble into their roots and as the CD title states, create “Ethnic Experiments”. They have a cult following in Armenia and have given several very successful club concerts there, despite the general indifference toward rock music in the Homeland.

Whether I simply casually listen, review, or produce artistic risk-takers, there is a high degree of respect that is accorded to them right off the bat from me. I first heard an MP3 song (Im Gala) that was somehow sent to me via email in 2004 via Christina Sarkissian (the person who gave me a copy of Bambir- Quake while in the US) via Gor Mkhitarian. I had never heard Armenian music performed like this before. Yet, I was confused on whether I actually liked the music and needed more of a sample set. So, finally, after 2 years of looking around, I finally bought an authentic CD of “Ethnic Experiments” at the Avant Garde Folk Club on Pushkin this summer and have had time to ponder and absorb the music.

Anyway, I also pushed Deti Picasso to Raffi way back when, and not least because I can’t live without music and eventually, what passes as contemporary culture here soon wears thin. With so much promise in Armenia, a system typified by corruption and nepotism as well as the need to have sponsors that are nearly always linked to the ruling regime hardly does much for the development and promotion of something original.

As a result, the local music scene stinks and most youth listen to Western or Russian pop music, perhaps with the exception of Yerord Mas and the regions where most people listen to rabiz. In a sense, it’s not that those Armenians have preferred tastes in locally produced music, but rather that what is being produced here pretty much sound the same and is usually just a poor quality copy of Western and Russian pop music or sub standard Tarkan.

The only exception, perhaps, are with contemporary renditions of, or newly created, patriotic songs, but few youth want to listen to that. They sure as hell don’t want to relax to it, which is why we need more diversity. With an albeit small number of Armenians into alternative rock, it’s good to see that Deti Picasso have emerged in Russia to produce music that appeals to Armenians and non-Armenians alike. Raffi Meneshian agrees.

Gaya’s voice is not operatic, smooth, or even attractive. It is jagged, nervous, and urgent. She reminds me of Kristi Stassinapoulou or Savina Yannatou, both from Greece. A case can be made that she reminds of a raw Allanis Morrisette. In all cases, at first glance the voices aren’t appealing. Yet, how they use it is very important. And, ultimately very effective. As for the rest of the band, they succeed in giving Gaya the neccessary color and punkish attitude needed for this all to work.

“Ethnic Experiments” is the type of album release in the Armenian language that happens once every few years. It startles you, and makes you think by going deeper into the approach than what is usually presented in a simple folk song. While anonymous artists come and go in Yerevan and in the Diaspora using folk music as a cheap vehicle to make money or springboard a career because they have no originality of their own, credit Deti Picasso for digging deep, and producing a delightfully flawed masterpiece of an album.

Now, this is real music.

According to a mutual friend of both mine and Deti Picasso’s, Sasha from rock band Sard, a non-Armenian audience in Moscow really love this band and can sing the lyrics to their Armenian songs when they see them live. That for me is enough. When culture can cross national and international borders and be appreciated by anyone and everyone, that’s real culture. As Raffi says, that’s real music.

Raffi’s post is here, while Deti Picasso have a web site here. Below is the video to one of their songs which crosses both alternative contemporary and traditional influences.