SERJ TANKIAN: New Projects In The Works

According to Billboard.com, SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian already has several other projects lined up in addition to the release of his second album, "Imperfect Harmonies", which is due September 21 on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records. His musical "Prometheus Bound" is scheduled to open in March 2011 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he's also finishing up a "classical jazz symphony" that he hopes to premiere next year. The forthcoming year may also find Tankian publishing a second poetry book, "Glaring Through Oblivion", and starting work on a nonfiction title.

Tankian has postponed the street date of "Imperfect Harmonies" in order to package the recording in the same tree-free paper he has used for his previous release, "Elect the Dead". The eco-friendly paper was not available to create the packaging for "Imperfect Harmonies" in time to make the previously announced street date of September 7.

"Imperfect Harmonies" is the second solo released from the SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman, following up his critically acclaimed 2007 solo debut, "Elect the Dead". As with "Elect the Dead", Tankian produced "Imperfect Harmonies" himself at his home studio in Los Angeles.

"Where 'Elect the Dead' was essentially a rock record with progressive melodic elements," Tankian says, "'Imperfect Harmonies' could be classified as rock because it is punchy with many peaks throughout, but the instrumentation is somewhat different. Though there are live drums, bass, and some guitars, the driving aspects are electronic and orchestral. It's quite unique in its sound palette. This is, in essence, music that has sat in the vat and matured to a ripe sensation and is now ready to serve."

"Imperfect Harmonies" is as powerful and musically eclectic as its predecessor. "I have been calling the music 'electro-orchestral-jazz-rock' because it has all of those aspects in prominence within the songs," Tankian says. "A few are more stripped down, but the majority of the songs have this huge wall of sound presented in a way I've never heard before. It's not common to have a song that is both electronic and orchestral since one is synthetic and the other organic, but I found a way of meshing a lot of these colors together."

The album has been influenced by Tankian's experience making "Elect the Dead Symphony", a symphonic interpretation of his debut that had its inaugural performance in New Zealand with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in March 2009. The performance has been captured on the CD/DVD "Elect the Dead Symphony". "The making of 'Elect the Dead Symphony' gave me the confidence and tools to create ensemble pieces for orchestra more confidently and effectively than before," Tankian says. "And that became one of the primary colors for this record along with electronic, jazz, and live instrumentation."