Interview: Satellite Citi the rockers shaking The Big Orange up with their powerful music

Alternative rock band Satellite Citi, comprising of Anna Gevorkian on vocals and drums and Shaunt Sulahian on guitars and vocals, have been steadily building a loyal and deserved fan base online. The two musicians blend Gevorkian’s soulful voice, indie sensibilities and folky drumming style with Sulahian’s beautiful metal guitar led melodies to create an individual yet unified sound that captures the imagination and ear.

Their music video ‘Rock Bottom’ commemorates the hundredth anniversary of the tragedies of the Armenian genocide, bringing sharply into focus one of the darkest struggles in recent history that is too often ignored or forgotten from our cultural discussion. This and other tracks like Collide are imbued with a captivating power through the vocal harmonies and mirrored drum and guitar rhythms, creating a real anticipation for their first full length album.

While, their latest single released today ‘Alive’ is a polished anthem filled with defiant lyrics so addictive that it made it straight onto my morning playlist. Here the band really displays the maturity and versatility of their artistic approach with epic guitar riffs and an inventive rhythm that demands attention. With songs of substance and such a unique yet sophisticated sound at such an early stage of their career I can’t wait to see where they take their music next.

I caught up with Anna and Shaunt to find out more about this mysterious and promising new duo:

Q1. So, how did you guys meet and form the band?

Anna: We were both making music at the time and I asked Shaunt if he wanted to collaborate on a duet I wrote called “If I Could” and that’s kind of when the musical spark happened. We’ve just continued to write music together ever since.

Shaunt: Anna showed me some demo recordings she was working on and I was thoroughly impressed by her voice and songwriting abilities. So we started jamming and one thing led to another.. and before you know it we had written a solid 10 songs in the span of a couple months that sort of spanned across several genres of music.

Q2. Where does the name Satellite Citi come from?

Anna: The idea of satellite minds connecting and communicating to one another really sparked our interest and one day I was driving and I was listening to an Elliott Smith song called “Fear City” and I visualized this city where people spoke to one another with their minds. I remember calling up Shaunt and saying what do you think of Satellite Citi for a band name and he was like “YES”.
Shaunt: Yes.

Q3. I remember you saying part of your inspiration to honour the victims of the Armenian genocide was because music is timeless and can live on educating and illuminating people. As artists do you feel a certain responsibility to create art that challenges and educates as well as entertains?

Anna & Shaunt: We definitely want our music to do more than just entertain. We really take the time to write meaningful lyrics that will leave an impact on our listeners. We know we have a responsibility of educating an audience, especially regarding our non-Armenians fans when it comes to the Armenian Genocide, since that issue is so dear to our hearts. I think “Rock Bottom” was a good example of how important it is for us to create something that resonates with a larger group of people and isn’t only for entertainment purposes. Unfortunately, genocides occurring across the globe are issues that are often ignored, and all Satellite Citi can do is offer a musical voice that informs, educates, and hopefully resonates with individuals on a deeper level.

Q4. Which musicians or artists inspire you creatively?

Anna: Glen Hansard, The Beatles, Elliott Smith, Led Zeppelin, Regina Spektor
Shaunt: Opeth, God is an Astronaut, System of a Down, Tool (There’s way too many to list)

Q5. Who are you guys listening to at the moment? Recommend some music to our readers!

Shaunt & Anna: We’ve been really into London Grammar lately. The atmosphere they create with their music is breathtaking. Also, very big on Royal Blood and Tame Impala at the time being. Tigran Hamasyan is also a fantastic Armenian pianist that’s creating jazz oriented melodies and experimenting with bizarre time signatures and he’s just an incredibly intriguing artist. We definitely recommend “Mockroot,” his latest release, a thorough listen.

Q6. Are you planning any more episodes of your Youtube Jamz series or are you keeping your new musical projects under wraps? Episode one was super fun as a fan to see where you’re going next!

Anna: We might post some more jams on Youtube in the future but we’re working on polishing more songs at the moment. I’m trying to tackle singing and playing drums simultaneously and Shaunt is constantly focused on songwriting.

Shaunt: We sort of want to tackle writing songs in several different genres, since we don’t really limit ourselves to a genre in general… and plus enjoy the challenge of experimenting. I think you’ll definitely hear that once you compare “Rock Bottom” to our upcoming single “Alive” which is a full fledged rock song.

Q7. Any upcoming projects we need to keep an eye out for?

Anna: We’re currently getting ready to release a music video for our song “Alive” which we’re very excited for. It’ll be interesting to see how our fans will react because it’ll be the first time they’ll see one of our acoustic songs transformed into a rock song.

Shaunt: Yeah definitely the music video for “Alive” is something we’ve been excited for since the start of the new year. We recorded the song with our producer Yury Anisonyan who’s our go to engineer/producer and had a fantastic crew for our video. We’re incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many talented people. The video should be released in the next couple weeks. Hope you guys enjoy it!

 You can find out more about Satellite Citi and their upcoming projects on their official pages: 

https://www.facebook.com/SatelliteCiti
https://twitter.com/SatelliteCiti
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnNyFyudvaMBF62O7EHBLCw

Cara Davies