Armik (born Armik Dashchi) is an Iranian-Armenian flamenco guitarist and composer.
Armik was born in Iran of Armenian descent. When he was just seven years old, he pawned his watch for a classical guitar, which he hid and practiced in his basement. At 12, he was a professional recording artist.[citation needed] While his early career focused mostly on jazz, Armik discovered the beauty and passion of flamenco while visiting Spain during the 1970s, where he saw Paco de Lucia perform.
Launching his solo career in 1994, Armik drew upon his jazz and flamenco influences to create a twist on the emerging Nuevo Flamenco sound. As a guitarist, he is one of the most adulated virtuosos of the Nuevo Flamenco genre, having appeared in Billboard Magazine's Top Ten New Age Artists in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 And 2010. Launching his solo career in 1994, Armik drew upon his jazz roots and flamenco passions to create a revolutionary twist on the emerging Nuevo flamenco sound. His invaluable compositions and performances cover an entire range of provocative melodies honed throughout his formative years to his delicate balancing of flamenco and classical guitar to the Latin and jazz influences that listeners hear in his music today. As a guitarist, he is one of the most adulated virtuosos of the Nuevo Flamenco genre, having attained this stature by virtue of his commanding presence among Billboard Magazine's Top Ten New Age Artists of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 & 2010. While his early career focused mostly on jazz, Armik discovered the beauty and passion of Flamenco while visiting Spain during the 1970s when he saw the legendary Paco de Lucia perform. Driven by a fire for the tradition that has defined his musical life ever since, the young musician immediately switched from his Jazz guitar for an in-depth journey to the heart of Spanish music. In 1981 Armik moved to Los Angeles to pursue this new direction, playing with other artists live and in the studio. By 1994 he released his solo debut album Rain Dancer, a critical and commercial success that he followed with 1995's Gypsy Flame. At this point, Armik's reputation as a professional recording artist of Nuevo flamenco was such that expert Spanish luthier Pedro Maldonado created an instrument for him, the Rubia; Armik's 1996 album was recorded with, and named after it. The following year saw the release of Malaga.
Armik was born in Iran of Armenian descent. When he was just seven years old, he pawned his watch for a classical guitar, which he hid and practiced in his basement. At 12, he was a professional recording artist.[citation needed] While his early career focused mostly on jazz, Armik discovered the beauty and passion of flamenco while visiting Spain during the 1970s, where he saw Paco de Lucia perform.
Launching his solo career in 1994, Armik drew upon his jazz and flamenco influences to create a twist on the emerging Nuevo Flamenco sound. As a guitarist, he is one of the most adulated virtuosos of the Nuevo Flamenco genre, having appeared in Billboard Magazine's Top Ten New Age Artists in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 And 2010. Launching his solo career in 1994, Armik drew upon his jazz roots and flamenco passions to create a revolutionary twist on the emerging Nuevo flamenco sound. His invaluable compositions and performances cover an entire range of provocative melodies honed throughout his formative years to his delicate balancing of flamenco and classical guitar to the Latin and jazz influences that listeners hear in his music today. As a guitarist, he is one of the most adulated virtuosos of the Nuevo Flamenco genre, having attained this stature by virtue of his commanding presence among Billboard Magazine's Top Ten New Age Artists of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 & 2010. While his early career focused mostly on jazz, Armik discovered the beauty and passion of Flamenco while visiting Spain during the 1970s when he saw the legendary Paco de Lucia perform. Driven by a fire for the tradition that has defined his musical life ever since, the young musician immediately switched from his Jazz guitar for an in-depth journey to the heart of Spanish music. In 1981 Armik moved to Los Angeles to pursue this new direction, playing with other artists live and in the studio. By 1994 he released his solo debut album Rain Dancer, a critical and commercial success that he followed with 1995's Gypsy Flame. At this point, Armik's reputation as a professional recording artist of Nuevo flamenco was such that expert Spanish luthier Pedro Maldonado created an instrument for him, the Rubia; Armik's 1996 album was recorded with, and named after it. The following year saw the release of Malaga.
And this is what people wrote about this wonderful album:
Superb as usual ... one of his best....the tempo is upbeat except for the last track & if you enjoy flamenco, armik's handling of the acoustic guitar is amazing.... (by Liva)
Armik (guitar)
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M.B. Gordy (percussion on 07. + 11.)
Bart Samolis (bass on 07. + 11.)
Tracklist:
01. Malaga (Armik) 4.43
02. Romantic Souls (Armik) 5.03
03. Andalucia la Luna (Armik) 4.44
04. Reflections Of Paradise (Armik) 4.48
05. Memories of Mallorca (Armik) 4.44
06. Ritmos Flamenco (Armik) 5.01
07. Fire Dance (Armik) 4.50
08. Cartas de Amor (Armik) 4.53
09. Pacifico (Armik) 4.51
10. Isle Of The Sun (Armik) 5.00
11. Moonlight Fantasy (Armik) 5.07
12. Until Next Time (Armik) 2.34
ARMU 2374 (zippyshare)