Tankian surge

The busy System of a Down frontman has a new EP and documentary — plus plenty of activism and related music to talk about

Though all touring plans for his band System of a Down were put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, vocalist Serj Tankian continued recording his own music, scoring documentaries and video games and pursuing his political and humanitarian activism.

He was sitting on a handful of songs that were originally meant for System of a Down but he found they weren’t working for the band, so he decided to record and release them himself as the EP “Elasticity,” which drops March 19.

Each song contains a different sound and vibe. While the manic title track is inspired by bands like the Germs, the pianodriven “Rumi,” which he wrote for his son, is raw and emotional, inspired by the poet of that name.

“My piano is in the main house, not in my studio, so there’s a playroom right there and when I write on piano he’s there playing with cars or Legos or whatever,” Tankian said during a recent phone interview from his Los Angeles home. “At the time, he was really young and he didn’t fully speak; he just made sounds.

“I’d play something and he’d make a sound and so the demos were originally this sort of musical interaction between us, and then I realized there’s a beauty in that. So it became a message of the poet Rumi to the world along with my messages to my son,” he says. “It was important for me. It would have not been cool to release some of these other songs without it.”

Tankian said he’s also proud of “Electric Yerevan,” which was inspired by System of a Down performing for the first time in Armenia in 2015 to mark the centennial of the Armenian genocide.

“There were protests called the Electric Yerevan and I was so inspired by those protests,” he said of the successful mass push that occurred that summer against electricity rate hikes in Armenia. “At that time, I had written a post on social media which was wordfor-word the middle part of what I say in that song.”

“Electric Yerevan” is also featured in the documentary Tankian produced, “Truth to Power,” which was released in some theaters and on limited streaming Feb. 19 (and will be released on video on demand on April 27). The film was directed by Armenian American filmmaker Garin Hovannisian and profiles Tankian’s advocacy work. It also chronicles his personal quest to have the Armenian genocide formally recognized by all governments, a call for justice for the estimated 1 million-plus Armenians who died during the massacre and forced deportation by the Ottoman Empire starting in 1915.

“It’s interesting how activism and the arts kind of dance with each other, sometimes well and sometimes horribly,” he said.

Tankian says he and the rest of System of a Down — guitarist-vocalist Daron Malakian, bassist-vocalist Shavo Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan — have all received death threats for their music and activism throughout the years, but it doesn’t stop them from speaking out.

“We’ve been witnesses to huge invasions, human rights tragedies, war and genocide, and for us not to speak out because it affects our job would be undermining humanity,” he said.

The documentary gives the behind-the-scenes story of how the band came up in Glendale during the ‘90s, as well as the personal journey of Tankian — through his own point of view, documented by years of video he personally shot both on and off the stage — and what happens when he’s got the attention of a mass audience.

“There are repercussions,” he said, noting there are plenty of System of a Down fans and government officials around the globe who’d prefer he “just shut up and sing.”

“And what are the fruits of the labor?” he asked. “Well, recognition of the Armenian genocide by the U.S. Congress in December 2019 … that was an activist dream come true. That was something we’ve struggled for awareness for many, many years with all of the guys in the band and myself. It was an affirmation of all the efforts and now it’s a good opportunity for the new Biden administration to take that and run with it and do an executive recognition, a proper recognition, of the Armenian genocide on April 24, which is the day of commemoration.”

“Elasticity” was originally set to be released in the fall. However, Tankian pushed it back when System of a Down decided to drop two new singles — its first new music in 15 years — in response to the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. The band got back together to record “Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz.” Both tracks were released in October and all proceeds from downloads went to the Armenia Fund to provide immediate aid to those in need in Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, and Armenia.

“After years of not being able to come up with new music together, when we saw what was going on in Armenia with Azerbaijan attacking, not just with weapons but with disinformation, social media bots, you name it. … They were trying to create a false parity, so we were trying to fight that and get the truth out,” he said. “The making of the video for ‘Protect the Land’ was very instrumental in doing that at that time during the war. We donated to charities that provided humanitarian relief and I am very proud of that.”

Tankian said he has more solo music ready, but there’s no new System of a Down music in the works at the moment. The band is scheduled to play Banc of California Stadium in Los Angles with Korn, Faith No More and Helmet on Oct. 22-23, but that could change depending on pandemic circumstances. Tankian said he’s looking forward to getting back onstage with the guys. Despite differing points of view in the band, he said, things are all good between band members.

“Over the years we’ve watched the press kind of play our differences against each other,” he said. “But what people fail to understand is that we’re a group of guys who have known each other for so long that we are like brothers. John is my brother-in-law and we have completely polar opposite American political views that we’re both passionate about, but we respect each other. We see each other all of the time and Shavo’s kids play with my son. We are family no matter what happens. We might be at each other because someone wants to do this and someone doesn’t want to do that, but there is respect and love at all times.”