Djivan Gasparyan - 'A Cool Wind Is Blowing'

tQ: The Armenian duduk, right?

Yeah, this is from an album that a lot of people have probably heard in some context somewhere but might not have realised what it was. I honestly can't remember when I first heard it, but I've had the vinyl for a long time. The first thing I think about that is present in this song - and a lot of the music I'm attracted to - is this quality of longing. And melancholy. You know, absence.

I think that's something that we've probably even talked about before, with some of the ideas that frame my work. I think naturally there's this sort of common feeling that comes with being a child of the diaspora. There's a human quality that feels very pressing in this song. I feel attracted to that.

tQ: That makes a lot of sense. Your work has a very empathetic quality - you're good at drawing parallels between oppressed and diasporic peoples, highlighting commonalities.

Yeah, that feeling of exile, you know? And of transience. I was just talking about this recently, about that transience, and how that quality is present in the music and art and things that I've been drawn to. I want to always be careful about over-identifying because I want to give space to each experience, to recognise that people are under different pressures, but I do think there's a common thread that brings us together. Something that makes us feel a sense of comfort.