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LLAMA

LLAMA

VIZA’s 100 project continues to unfold, with the band’s next track ready for upcoming release on September 15, 2023. The sixth track from this new effort is titled “Llama”, a new composition venturing into the acoustic and exotic side of the band, centered on an imaginary Llama and coping with the dynamic of life’s dramas. This Llama-rrific sonnet is a follow up to last month’s release “Avec Toi (From Paris with Love)”, with many more compositions slated for a continuous stream of releases over the coming months into 2023 and beyond.

“I have a fondness for turning animals into symbols in my musical compositions and Llama is no different here.  The llama came about upon over my fascination of the southern hemisphere and its strange yet adorable presence.  I often wonder if the llama and the camel come from the same world like distant relatives.” said frontman K’noup.

“Really enjoyed tracking for Llama,” said theoudplayer Antranig Kzirian. “The oud parts, along with the rest of the instruments and unique sounds helped bring this to life and give it a sonic identity,” he added.

“Are you looking for drama?  A line that stuck with me when writing the lyrics.  Must be all those Narcos episodes I’ve watched.”

The team continues to work and is excited for the coming months where a substantial amount of new material will be shared with fans. Yesterday, Ms. Information, Thunderbolt, Maggie Mae’s Tavern, Avec Toi (From Paris with Love) and Llama are just the beginning of this new and exciting effort as VIZA marches onward to the culmination of the 100 Project.

All new releases will be available on all major streaming platforms for your listening pleasure and/or purchase.

Make sure to stay tuned for more information and updates as we continue our work!

VIZA IG: @vizamusic

VIZA FB: @vizamusic

VIZA Twitter: @vizamusic

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Avec Toi

VIZA’s 100 project continues to unfold, with the band’s next track ready for upcoming release on August 15, 2023. The fifth track from this new effort is titled “Avec Toi (From Paris with Love)”, a French love affair featuring a Greek tragedy twist where a passionate yet misunderstood lover takes his own life after being accidentally dismissed by his beau. This dramatic and edgy adventure is a follow up to last month’s release “Maggie Mae’s Tavern”, with many more compositions slated for a continuous stream of releases over the coming months into 2023 and beyond.

“Even though the song comes off as a fun little jam, the song was written from the perspective of a tragic Parisian love story on how quickly things can unravel in any romantic setting,” said frontman K’noup.“Musically I wanted to create something similar to Breakout the Violins, hence the accelerando section, and furthermore the band took the concept and added so much musical dialogue that it almost felt like the instruments – oud, electric guitar – were the characters themselves,” he added.

Photo by Jake Hagopian

“This was a special track,” said theoudplayer Antranig Kzirian. “There was this natural building energy that was harnessed and the oud parts reflect this dynamic – in some ways this was a nod to the kef style folk improvisations of my youth,” he added.

The team continues to work and is excited for the coming months where a substantial amount of new material will be shared with fans. Yesterday, Ms. Information, Thunderbolt, Maggie Mae’s Tavern and Avec Toi (From Paris with Love) are just the beginning of this new and exciting effort as VIZA marches onward to the culmination of the 100 Project.

All new releases will be available on all major streaming platforms for your listening pleasure and/or purchase.

Make sure to stay tuned for more information and updates as we continue our work!

VIZA IG: @vizamusic

VIZA FB: @vizamusic

VIZA Twitter: @vizamusic

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Maggie Mae’s Tavern

VIZA’s 100 project continues to unfold, with the band’s next track ready for upcoming release on July 15, 2023. The fourth track from this new effort is titled “Maggie Mae’s Tavern”, a vintage vibe track drawing on the group’s nostalgic edgy acoustic sound as a follow up to last month’s initial release “Thunderbolt”, with many more compositions slated for a continuous stream of releases over the coming months into 2023 and beyond.

“This composition bubbled to the surface during the pandemic,” said theoudplayer Antranig Kzirian. “During the long days at home with the family, my mind began to wander to my youth spent on the east coast. My brother and friends and I performed in an Armenian traditional “kef” band named “Aravod” where we played at weddings and dances for Armenians all over the in cities like Philadelphia, New York City, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago and Detroit, and we also participated in community youth organizational life throughout the region. One of the pubs we would visit to connect with friends when in New York City for these activities was “Maggie Mae’s” in Queens – the song just kind of happened naturally at that point,” he added.

As VIZA is known for an acoustic, but aggressive sensibility, “Maggie Mae’s Tavern” hits some nostalgic, familiar notes for listeners.  A combination of bubbly oud, crips acoustic guitars, hard-hitting drums, rumbling bass lines, and a polished, layered electric guitar finale complement a whimsical tale of tavern tomfooleries weaved together by dual lead vocals by frontman K’noup and Kzirian. “Maggie Mae’s Tavern” is the kind of track that could have been released on the band’s earlier albums such as “Eros”, “Maktub” or “De Facto”.

“I immediately felt the nostalgia as we started tracking ‘Maggie Mae’s Tavern’. With that, we took a more acoustic approach that nods to earlier VIZA songs and then brought in some of their more modern sensibilities.  This makes it fresh and gives it a unique stamp while maintaining the sound of the band,” stated recording and mixing engineer and co-producer Matt Nelson of Foreword Productions. “This song carves a niche into the current VIZA catalogue while taking a page from their past works.  It’s no coincidence that this approach reinforces the reflective sentiment of the song’s lyrics.  I’m really impressed with the musical range of VIZA’s members and had a fantastic time discovering what became the final production,” added Nelson. 

The team continues to work and is excited for the coming months where a substantial amount of new material will be shared with fans. Yesterday, Ms. Information, Thunderbolt and Maggie Mae’s Tavern are just the beginning of this new and exciting effort as VIZA marches onward to the culmination of the 100 Project.

All new releases will be available on all major streaming platforms for your listening pleasure and/or purchase.

Make sure to stay tuned for more information and updates as we continue our work!

VIZA IG: @vizamusic

VIZA FB: @vizamusic

VIZA Twitter: @vizamusic

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100

How many VIZA songs exist? How many have been released since the band’s inception? We were curious ourselves so we did a full count and found that, when you add up all of VIZA’s albums, EPs, and singles, that quite amazingly, 83 is the current number. This doesn’t include all the covers VIZA has released over the years and the most recent releases of “Yesterday” and “Ms. Information”, which are in fact VIZA’s 84th and 85th songs. So here the band goes, kicking off the 100 project! This will be a thrilling ride as the group continues to prepare for many more compositions slated for a continuous stream of releases over the coming months into 2023 and beyond, with a unique and interesting objective of hitting the 100 mark for total releases by VIZA.

Designed by Simon Majarian

“I consider Maktub the official beginning of the band and the birth of our sound.  I would’ve never guessed after all these years we are almost to 100 songs recorded but then again Maktub means ‘all is written’ in Arabic, so I shouldn’t be surprised,” said frontman K’noup.

“To complete 100 songs is quite the meaningful milestone,” stated theoudplayer Andrew Kzirian. “We’ve had such a winding road and amazing experience with all our different records and the evolution of the band’s sound – it’s an important achievement to make it to the century mark, and even more meaningful to share it with our supporting and loving fan base – get ready for a lot of new music!” he added.

A brief examination of the historical record highlights the various albums, EPs and singles which led to this important juncture. First came the album Maktub in 2006 (11 tracks), the De Facto EP in 2007 (6 tracks), the album Eros in 2008 (15 tracks), followed by the band’s first full length and groundbreaking rock themed record Made in Chernobyl in 2010 (11 tracks). 2011 was a busy time as the cover of Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) was released, followed by the single Bake Me in Clouds in 2011, and the album Carnivalia in 2011 (12 tracks). With this new-found buzz and cutting edge material VIZA answered the overwhelming demand for considerable touring at various premier festivals and as direct support for Serj Tankian and Gogol Bordello, leading up to the band’s big release of the album Aria in 2014 (12 tracks). Aria elevated the band to new heights which led to continued touring with Skindred and more headline touring in Europe. As part of a successful Kickstarter campaign, the band released the In Coins single in 2014, the Midnight Hour (Dingle Rock) single in 2014, the Fuego single in 2014, and the covers for When Doves Cry and Naïve Melody in 2014. After a brief hiatus, the group recorded and released the Unorthodox Revival I EP (6 tracks) and Unorthodox Revival II EP (6 tracks) both in 2018, followed by the Eros single in 2019 and the Loyal Tea single in 2020.

The recent release of the new single “Yesterday” kicked off the 100 project effort, presenting the listener with symbolic storytelling and compelling soundscapes, incorporating classic VIZA elements such as soft, sweet sections of spiritual singing set against folky, dancey grooves, juxtaposed with intensely passionate choruses where the music intensely transforms into a life of its own. And the societal parody “Ms. Information” was the band’s scintillating follow up second track, exploring the heavy rock sensibility of the group along with a driving rhythm, lyrical poetry in the form of critical commentary about our world and captivating visual artwork.

This talented group of songwriters continues its hard work and is excited for the coming months where a substantial amount of new material will be shared with fans on a periodic monthly basis.

Yesterday, Ms. Information and all following releases of the 100 project will be available on all major streaming platforms for your listening pleasure and/or purchase.

Make sure to stay tuned for more information and updates as we continue our work!

VIZA IG: @vizamusic

VIZA FB: @vizamusic

VIZA Twitter: @vizamusic

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