artist: Djivan Gasparyan country of origin: Arnmenia style(s): Armenian folk, ambient essential releases: I Will Not Be Sad In This World (1989, Opal/All Saints) Moon Shines At Night (1993, Gyroscope/All Saints)

These two exceptional albums are from an Armenian musician discovered by ambient pioneer Brian Eno while he was on a trip though the old Soviet Union.

Gasparyan plays the dudak, a remarkable wind instrument with a warm resonance and very distinctive, slightly nasal tone. Stephen Hill, host of the U.S. public radio program Music From The Hearts Of Space, was so impressed with I Will Not Be Sad In This World that he declared Gasparyan’s playing to be "as sensitive and emotionally effecting as can be achieved by humans".

This really is music that can move you deeply, enhanced in spots by some lovely vocals sung by Gasparyan in his native tounge. The droning pieces are all steeped in a gentle melancholy, but sadness is rarely more beautiful than this. His subsequent albums mostly cover the same territory; these are the only two Gasparyan albums you need.

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