7 suspended brass discs, surface transducers, live electronics, performance, 45′, 2023

Kayīb is a sound performance based on forbidden songs, the entangled methods of oil and voice extraction, and histories of charlatanism. Through a series of hypnotic and repetitive sonic movements, the performance by Andrius Arutiunian unfolds as a complex interplay of multiple illicit voices. From mystics in Paris such as G.I.Gurdjieff to Emperor Haile Salassie’s fascination with Armenian musicians, the performance is a study of the chance encounters between historical and musical figures. Kayīb departs from Arutiunian’s recent series of works based on gharīb – the notion of strangeness manifesting through musical and political peripheries.