SaladeFriday in Athens: Akram Hajj, Shushan Kerovpyan, Thodoris Ziarkas
The SaladeFriday project was founded in Beirut in 2021 by Lebanese musician Akram Hajj.
It is organized in various European cities, with the aim of bringing together musicians from Lebanon’s experimental and underground scene with artists from other countries and other artistic backgrounds.
Following the explosion at the port of Beirut and Lebanon’s economic crisis, many musicians were forced to leave the country, seeking new places where they could live, create, and prosper.
In their original form, these gatherings combined improvisational music with a private dinner—each participant brought a fruit or vegetable of their choice, and the host mixed them together to make an improvised salad. The title of the project derives from this practice.
After small events in Cairo, Alexandria, Italy, and Switzerland, SaladeFriday found an almost permanent home in Paris, between the Middle Eastern diaspora and the local scene.
The concert at KET features Akram Hajj (percussion, electronics), Shushan Kerovpyan (vocals, u-bass), and Thodoris Ziarkas (double bass). The evening begins with three solo sets, continues with two duets (Akram & Shushan / Akram & Thodoris) and concludes with a collaboration between all three.
🔷 Lebanese musician and drummer Akram Hajj became widely known as a member of the post-rock band Kinematik. His solo work combines acoustic percussion, pedals, and a mixer without input, creating an electroacoustic, industrial, and atmospheric sound known as Daf-Noise. He lives in Paris.
🔷 Singer and multi-instrumentalist Shushan Kerovpyan was born in Paris to a family of Armenian musicians. She lives in Athens, where she continues to explore and develop her musical language. Her style combines traditional Armenian and Middle Eastern music with American folk, blues, soul, and the folk traditions of the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, and Latin America.
🔷 Co-founder of Valia Calda, double bassist and composer Thodoris Ziarkas is active in both London and Athens. He collaborates with international groups and renowned artists in the fields of jazz, improvisational, and traditional music (Nancy Mounir, Tom Sochas, Vanessa Kourtesi, London Improvisers Orchestra, Okay Temiz, Yazz Ahmed, Anna Homler, Steve Beresford, Savina Giannatou, Electric Litany, Tasos Stamou, Adam Bohman, Yuko Kaseki).