Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian's first full feature length film score the 1915 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on April 22, 2016. The film '1915' was originally released theatrically in April of 2015. This soundtrack is being released around not only the anniversary of the film's initial release, but also the anniversary of annual commemoration and recognition of the film's subject matter; The Armenian Genocide that occurred during WWI.

In an article with the Asbarez newspaper, Serj was quoted, “I think '1915' is a really interesting, unique drama that deals with a unique topic that hasn’t been dealt with in films. For me the film deals with the Diasporan effect of trauma—of loss. There’s no film that’s dealt with that. Maybe it’s personal, but the message of loss—the pain of loss– is very universal. ‘1915’ does that in a very artistic way.” 

Serj has explained that he first wrote themes based on the film's script “to figure out what the emotional centerpiece of it is and then extrapolate the sub-themes and build other themes.” The score was composed in Serj's studio in Los Angeles, frame-by-frame and scene-by-scene while working closely with the film directors, Garin Hovannisian and Alec Mouhibian.

In addition to the compositions that made it into the film, the 1915 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack includes 4 bonus tracks, including a track titled '100 Years', that Serj co-composed with New Zealand composer John Psathas. A video for ‘100 Years' was released in April of 2015 to commemorate the centennial of the Genocide that affected Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians. Elements of the composition were used in various portions of the ‘1915’ film score, so when producing the soundtrack, Serj determined that it would be fitting to add ‘100 Years’ in it’s entirety into the album sequence.

A short description of the film is below:

In 2015, exactly 100 years after the Armenian Genocide, a director (Simon Abkarian) is staging a play at the Los Angeles Theatre to honor the victims of that crime, forgotten and denied for an entire century. The play stars his enigmatic wife (Angela Sarafyan) as an Armenian woman in 1915 who must make a controversial decision that will alter the course of history.

But this will not be an ordinary performance. As protesters surround the theater before showtime, and a series of strange accidents spreads terror among the play’s cast (Sam Page, Nikolai Kinski) and producer (Jim Piddock), it appears that Simon’s mission is far more dangerous than we think – and the ghosts of 1915 are everywhere.