Arutiunian works through installations, sound objects, electronic releases, and collaborations with ensembles and performers. Esoteric musical forms, alternate sonic traditions, and synthetic sound sources are recurring elements in his practice.

For the past year, Arutiunian has steadily researched notions of gharib̄ – a tradition that has long been associated with the underground, clandestine activities of music making, historic psychotropic substance trade, and political dissent. Gharib̄ permutes different linguistic and aural traditions in the Middle East, Levant, and Caucasus. Through a series of new sound works and objects, Arutiunian continues to investigate how vernacular sonic practices can offer alternate positions for sound experimentation. Sonic dissent, rethinking modes of attunement, and the use of resonance as both a musical and historiographic notion all form the Gharib̄ series.

• Kayīb, by Andrius Arutiunian

• Kayīb, by Andrius Arutiunian

Arutiunian’s recent shows and residencies include Rewire Festival, FACT, Cité Internationale des Arts, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, ZKM Centre for Art and Media, documenta 14, Parliament of Bodies, Kassel, and MAZE Festival. He has also collaborated with Adapter, MAZE, Modelo62, Slagwerk Den Haag, and Synaesthesis ensembles. Arutiunian’s upcoming album and publication Seven Common Ways of Disappearing will be released by the Hallow Ground label in 2022.