Tigran Hamasyan live in Paris

The Bird of a Thousand Voices, released back in the summer, sees Hamasyan embracing jazz-rock maximalism with a record that is both weighty and nuanced. At its core, it's an undeniably proggy project: a double-length concept LP with a story inspired by an ancient Armenian tale in which "a hero travels into unseen realms to find and bring back a mythical bird whose thousand different songs will awaken people again and bring harmony to the world."

Hamasyan initially wanted to write something similar to an opera when he started thinking about the project almost five years back; at the same time he began exploring how analogue synths would work with his sound. Covid stalled the recording process which led to the record being finished at home while he was learning Ableton.

Premiering the record at the vast Philharmonie de Paris complex in French capital's 19th arrondissement, the diminutive figure of Hamasyan – looking much younger than his 37 years – spends most of the set time huddled over a collection of pianos and synths. When he breaks away from the keys, he’s a ball of energy; building loops and addressing the audience – part minister, part mad-scientist. The performance wouldn’t feel out of place in Berghain, with Hamasyan as an improv-driven David Guetta, jumping in time with the record’s more EDM leaning moments.

Sonically, the whole thing comes together live with a band locked in by a beautifully guttural bass and drum unit (Marc Karapetian and Nate Wood respectively). At times they sound like a well-tuned metal band and it comes as no surprise that Hamasyan is a longtime fan of Tool and System of a Down: the energy of rock and metal underlines the entire performance.

The album’s thematic nuances aren’t pushed hard beyond a few words from Hamasyan to reinforce the core message of peace and unity – and the setlist is an apt restructure of the tracklist that make the performance pop in all the right places. "Red, White and Black Worlds" is a high point, telling the part of the story where a path of no return is taken by the protagonist – through black, white and red worlds with endless deserts, turbulent rivers and demons - to find the titular bird. Hamasyan encores (twice) after enthused standing ovations with “The Well of Deatha and Resurrection” and “Bells of Memory”, bounding back on stage both times like he’s playing a room much bigger than the Philharmonie de Paris.

Somewhat ambitiously - but not particularly surprisingly - the record is also part of a wider package of content: a collection of illustrations, a video game and a full-length documentary on Armenia and Tigran due out later this year. “The intention is to tell this important story in a new way that will have an impact on the human being living in 2024 – especially the younger generation,” Hamasyan has said.