Charles Amirkhanian is an American composer, percussionist, sound poet, and radio producer of Armenian and Assyrian descent, widely recognized for his avant-garde and experimental music. Born on January 19, 1945, in Fresno, California, he has become a key figure in the realm of text-sound composition—a genre that blends literary verse with musical structure, focusing on the musicality of spoken words and phonetic elements.

Amirkhanian's career has been marked by a keen interest in developing auditory experiences that challenge traditional notions of musical composition and reception. Throughout his innovative career, he has proliferated the use of new music technologies and environmental sounds, manipulating speech to create rhythmic and textual compositions that have influenced the landscape of contemporary sound art. His works such as "Miatsoom" (a retrospective released in 1997), "Charles Amirkhanian: Loudspeakers" (1993), "Lexical Music" (1980), and "Walking Tune" (1998) have showcased his ability to transform the spoken word into captivating, abstract soundscapes. Amirkhanian's impact on the world of electroacoustic music and his promotion of contemporary composers through his tenure as music director at KPFA-FM in Berkeley, California, and other global institutions, have earned him recognition as an innovative force in the world of music and sound art.

Genres

American Contemporary Classical

Experimental Poetry

Sound Art

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Latest Release

Miatsoom

Charles Amirkhanian

Ep - 4 Tracks - Released November 5, 2021