Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time on KEXP, is "Vay Aman" by LADANIVA, from the 2020 EP Ladaniva on Planete B.
Ladaniva is the musical partnership between Armenian singer Jacqueline Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas. Founded by the duo in 2019, they went viral in the early days of the pandemic with the release of the video for our Song of the Day, “Vay Aman.” Set in a sunny locale with faces full of joy, it’s hard not to smile while watching their effervescent playing.
Ladaniva’s music takes influences from all around the world, from traditional Balkan music to maloya, jazz and reggae, with strong roots in Armenian folk. It reflects Baghdasaryan’s DNA, of Armenian and Belarussian descent while Thomas came from a family of musicians and began to play trumpet at the age of 7. After a jazz course at the conservatory, he traveled with his instruments around Africa and Latin America and got introduced to a long list of musical genres through meetings with traditional musicians. The two fused their backgrounds and styles after meeting in Lille, France, where Baghdasaryan is a vocal teacher at the MusicaLille music school.
Ladaniva played the Netherlands-based non-profit showcase for European artists Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) this past weekend, where they were also awarded with the esteemed prize of Public Choice Award for the Music Moves Europe Awards.
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