Meet the DJs remixing Armenian culture: An interview with the founders of Hye Frequencies

Hye Frequencies is a New York City-based Armenian DJ collective on a mission to showcase Armenian music and culture while bringing our diverse diaspora (and larger SWANA community) together on the dance floor. Founded by Audrey Peshkam (DJ Vahshi), Elina Arbo (Mari), Mariam Saprichyan (Babagamoush), Հրայր Պէրպէրեան (Hrayr Berberian) and Emily Stamboulian (Purely Circumstantial), Hye Frequencies is known for its late-night, high-energy dance parties that infuse Middle Eastern and Armenian folk music with new flavor. The Weekly caught up with Arbo, Peshkam, Saprichyan and Պէրպէրեան following their October events to talk about the origins of Hye Frequencies, their vision for the collective and what surprised them most about New York City’s Armenian community. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Rosie Nisanyan (R.N.): Do you have a favorite Armenian song? Elina Arbo (E.A.): There's a Japanese band called Mariah that collaborated with an Armenian singer, Seta Evanian, on their album "Utakata No Hibi.” My favorite song on that album is called "Shinzo No Tobira.” It has a very beautiful, colorful cover. Audrey Peshkam (A.P.): It’s hard to pick one track, but there's this one album I've been listening to nonstop since I found it this year. It's by an artist named gaagaat, who's based in Armenia now. The album is "Armenian Juke,” so it's all hyperpop, electronic, juke, but remixes of old Armenian tracks. And it's just perfection. Հրայր Պէրպէրեան (H.B.): One of my favorite tracks is an old 78 RPM recording called "Թռչէի Մտքով Տուն - Մարտիկի Երգ (Trtcheyi Mdkov Doun - Mardigi Yerk).” Mariam Saprichyan (M.S.): Aram Asatryan’s "Asem, Te Chasem” is always playing in my car. He’s the best. R.N.: Can you tell me more about Hye Frequencies and how you all found each other? A.P.: I first got in touch with Mariam in 2023 through Lara Sarkissian. I'd reached out to see if she was in New York for a work event I was planning, and she recommended some New York-based DJs to me — one of them was Mariam, and the other was Հրայր, who was working with the Armenian Record Archive. Through Mariam, I got to meet Elina and Em when we began planning a fundraiser together for Palestine Red Crescent Society in early 2024. Through planning that event, Solidarity Sessions, I found that we all really vibed. We were very aligned in wanting to create spaces for Armenian music and Armenian DJs and not have it be something traditional. But how did you guys [Elina and Mariam] meet? Through Հրայր, right? M.S.: Oh, yeah! He had a get-together at his apartment. E.A.: That's when we first really talked. We’d met at Newtown, but didn’t interact much because you were in the middle of DJing. M.S.: I think it really was through Հրայր that I met everyone because I started throwing sidewalk dance parties at a bar during COVID. The first night I DJ’d, I met this girl Garin who's Armenian. Հրայր was one of her friends, he started coming to the parties and then we would always hang out. I took a break from DJing to have my son. When I was ready again, I reached out to Հրայր and said, "I want to throw a party.” He said they were planning a DJ night at Newtown Radio on Valentine’s Day, so we could do an Armenian party. It was my first gig after having my son, and I was ready to do anything. The party was great! So many people came out (listen here). My mom and I run a skincare studio in downtown Manhattan. We hosted an event with different Armenian clothing brands, wine and vinyl playing. The turn out was great! I saw there were more and more Armenians who were half-Armenian or people you probably wouldn't meet at church. It made me realize that we need to find a place for us outside of that. Historically, Armenians have been so attached to the social aspect of church, and the downstairs of a church was the hangout spot — that's how I grew up. But I could see how a lot of people who are not fully immersed in Armenian culture, because they didn't grow up that way, would want to have an alternative. So, that's kind of what it was. Before doing Hye Frequencies parties, I was playing a lot of Middle Eastern music and I was close to the Middle Eastern community. I started doing parties with a group of women who were Egyptian, Palestinian, etc. It’s still the community, but now, it's very Armenian. We're open to everyone playing, not so hyper-focused on the background, but it's nice because we get to bring people together in this way. R.N.: You mentioned the need for events that don’t take place at church. I've noticed an uptick in those kinds of events in recent years. What do you think is driving this? M.S.: [Church events] can be stuffy. There are also many groups within the Armenian community, so it feels divided. One group will go to these parties, one group will go to that church. Unfortunately, people have nowhere to go if they’re not in any of those groups. Also, the groups that host the more "official” events cater to a certain kind of person. When I DJ’d at Hye House, I was so happy to see people from everywhere, literally every Armenian I've ever met — Eastern and Western. Same goes for Hye Frequencies’ parties; we always have a good mix! A.P.: I also think a lot of those events are super inaccessible for a lot of people. Granted, many of them are fundraisers, which is valid. I've worked with Armenian organizations and know the effort that goes into throwing these types of events and how expensive they are to put on. But, unless you can afford to buy those tickets, you can't really go and have a social life within these Armenian circles. For myself, if I weren't working with these Armenian groups, I would have never been exposed to this community. I can't afford to go to those events on my own. Almost all of our Hye Frequencies events have been free. At the first event, I remember looking around and saying to Elina, "Oh my God, there are students here. There are actually queer people here, and creatives and artists.” These are the people who are always the odd ones out at the stuffier events. So, it's been really nice being able to create a space for people, like Mariam said, to not have to feel cliquey, and to just get to know each other. E.A.: 100%. As someone who also comes from a non-traditional background, I didn't really get in touch with my Armenian side until I met these two and we started doing these events. This was the first time I was really able to connect. R.N.: What's your vision or goal for Hye Frequencies? A.P.: Speaking for myself, I'm just happy to see how far Hye Frequencies can go in terms of its reach. The more we can expand the community, the better. We recently did a Halloween event with DJ Ari B, an Iranian DJ from the Bay Area; it was great to do a cross-cultural collaboration with some other Iranian and Palestinian DJs. If there's an opportunity to bring this to different cities and continue working with other talented SWANA artists, I think that would be really awesome. E.A.: For me, it's just a lot of fun and experimentation. It really feels like we're in a sandbox together. Audrey and I started DJing together because of Hye Frequencies. We did our first back-to-back because Հրայր had recommended us to try it out and now, we've done more back-to-backs together. Hearing Mariam’s diversity of music and all the sounds that she's familiar with, I really see it as our sandbox. M.S.: That's kind of how I see it, too. Truthfully, I would love to host at a larger venue and work with different spaces where we can do a ticketed event. It reminds me of when Disco Tehran started. I used to go to a lot of their parties — I saw them start in a little club and then, it just blew up. When Laylit started, it was definitely smaller scale. We can do all the experimenting and then try to do it in a bigger space and get more people. But yeah, it would be cool to do something a little bit bigger locally and then see how it goes, because you never know. I think it comes down to dedication and how much you're willing to do. I feel like for us, we can definitely do it because there is a community. R.N.: Can you tell me more about the Armenian Record Archive and how it is linked to Hye Frequencies? E.A.: Harry and Em are affiliated with the Armenian Record Archive (ARA), and they helped put together that first fundraiser event we did. It just goes to show this combined effort of music preservation and celebration. And it also speaks to the versatility of all the members of this group. There's so much passion put into all of these projects and there are moments where they converge, which is how this group first came together. H.B.: I met Em back in 2020 when ARA was getting started. We connected over organizing a DJ night celebrating Armenian diaspora music at Newtown Radio and the rest is history. Now, ARA operates as a collective dedicated to digitizing and freely sharing endangered 78 RPM shellac records. R.N.: Is there anything that has surprised you about New York City’s Armenian community? Is it bigger than you expected? A.P.: Bigger, for sure. At our first event, Cassette was packed. I was so surprised and we've managed to fill the room there a couple of times. I grew up in Southern California, and the LA Armenian community is super different from the East Coast Armenian community. I truthfully wasn’t expecting to meet so many amazing Armenians here, since the community is much smaller when you compare it to LA. Getting to meet so many cool, young creatives through Hye Frequencies events has been pleasantly surprising, and it’s especially gratifying to be cultivating such a tight-knit community in New York. We’re seeing how many like-minded people there are, who are really dedicated to trying to preserve their culture, but also letting go of the toxic traditions and old school mentalities that aren't getting us anywhere. And as a DJ, it’s really endearing to see how many Armenians — as well as other SWANA folks, and even those completely outside of our culture — come to Hye Frequencies events, ready to expose themselves to new sounds and genres. It’s really special, knowing that the reach of Hye Frequencies is expanding beyond the Armenian community, and we now get to share our culture and music with everyone. M.S.: The party we did in Newtown Radio was the first time I saw Armenians I grew up with, who were mostly Syrian-, Lebanese- and Turkish-Armenians, all in the same room as Hayastanci Armenians. At any Armenian event that I did, I was like, "Wow, I can't believe you all exist. This is amazing!” And now that we’ve established that we’re here, we really need to do a good job promoting the events and making people dance. E.A: It’s been a really wonderful blessing to be so welcomed in this community. I think the space that has been cultivated is unlike anything else. I grew up and was really raised by my Assyrian community and the Assyrian church. So, it’s really beautiful, despite the tribalism we have, to come together in this very vibrant and beautiful group and have a space where I can bring everything I love that's culturally relevant — and sometimes not — and be encouraged to explore myself as an artist and a lover of music. It's been incredible, which I think is a testament to the people who have been involved in this space. R.N.: How can people support Hye Frequencies? M.S.: We're working on merch! Follow our Instagram because that's where you're going to find all the info for upcoming events. A.P.: Yeah, definitely follow our Instagram. Once we get the merch, that'll help in terms of donations to keep things going. We kind of hit the ground running this year: April was our first event, and we’ve done events almost every month since. We’ll be back at Cassette for our bi-monthly residency on Friday, Jan. 30 for our first event of the new year. Follow along for more updates to come! Follow Hye Frequencies on Instagram @HyeFrequencies to find out about upcoming events. You can also follow the individual co-founders: Audrey Peshkam (@AudreyPeshkam), Elina Arbo (@ElinaArbo), Mariam Saprichyan (@_babagamoush_), Հրայր Պէրպէրեան (of @ArmenianRecordArchive) and Emily Stamboulian (@PurelyCircumstantial). All photos are courtesy of Hye Frequencies unless otherwise noted.

Meet the DJs remixing Armenian culture: An interview with the founders of Hye Frequencies

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Rosie (Toumanian) Nisanyan

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Rosie (Toumanian) Nisanyan

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