Exploring the sounds of Yerevan with “Sampling the World”
Sampling the World is a project by the Swiss beatboxer and two-time Loopstation champion, Arthur Henry, showcasing his ambitious musical journey across the globe. During his travels, Henry records everyday sounds from cities and transforms them into electronic music. With a goal to create one unique song for every city he visits, Henry brings together diverse and unexpected elements, crafting harmony from urban chaos. As you might have guessed, one of his latest travels was to Yerevan, Armenia.
“A friend of mine proposed that we go to Armenia to work on my project and offer workshops to students there at the same time,” Henry told the Weekly. “I’ve been a beatboxer for 17 years, always working with machines to transform my organic sounds into electronic music. In 2020, I decided to blend this passion with traveling and began using not just my own sounds but also sounds from other people. This is how Sampling the World was born.”
During his visit to Yerevan, Henry worked closely with students at the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies. The students helped him decide which sounds best capture the Armenian culture by sharing their favorite traditional instruments. Although it was difficult to fully represent all of those traditions the way he wanted to, the input of the students was essential in picking the sounds they felt best reflect the city. “Yerevan was especially incredible, with its rich array of traditional instruments and exceptionally talented musicians,” he said.
When traveling for Sampling the World, Henry specifies that it’s the people who define the final result, shaping the material that he works with. In Yerevan, this happened with the students of TUMO. “They helped me find the right instruments, the right people and the right locations for recording and filming. They also assisted in communicating with people on the streets and chasing down sounds, helping me open my ears and eyes to the city’s unique auditory landscape,” he said. Many of the young students even participated in recording sounds throughout the city with him.
The experience was particularly rewarding in Yerevan, as the people were exceptionally generous, curious and eager to participate. “I would say it’s mainly the people of Yerevan — their generosity, their talent in playing various instruments and their unique language — that shaped the video. The language itself is so distinct and beautiful. I would get goosebumps hearing someone sing or even just talk,” he said.
When arriving in a new city, Henry’s first task is to learn about its history, culture and architecture. Most importantly, he wants to get to know the people and what life is like for them. He reaches out to people before arriving, as he aims to involve 30-40 participants in each project. Once he meets the participants, he starts recording with them while capturing random sounds from the city. Then, he returns to Switzerland with his hard drive and chooses one of the recorded sounds as the base for the song. “In the case of Yerevan, the base was the duo Tiezerk, featured at the beginning of the video,” he said.
Henry loves how the project transforms both random and traditional sounds into electronic music, blending the organic with the electronic. In places like Armenia, where traditional instruments are of significant importance, the sounds shaped the entire track, giving it a unique character that sets it apart from any other city.
What sets Henry’s creative process apart is how he incorporates sounds from people who may know each other and even play music together. He records them separately, so they have no idea what the others have contributed. “It’s a fascinating paradox, and I love how it highlights the way music brings people together. This process not only unites people within a city but also connects participants from different cities I’ve traveled to,” he said.
One of Henry’s main goals is for people to develop a genuine connection with everyone involved while watching and listening to his videos. He says he has met so many unique and remarkable people through this project, and he hopes that viewers will appreciate this as well. “Even though the participants weren’t physically together when creating the music, I want the audience to see them as part of something beautiful and shared,” he said. Reflecting on his trip to Yerevan, Henry admits that it was an especially unique experience in terms of the people he met, and he hopes that connection and warmth he felt while recording come across in the final result.
You can watch the music video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYkhvyiE590.
