PARG is yearning for connection on new single “Kanchum Em”

Born in a small village on the shores of Lake Sevan in eastern Armenia, Pargev Vardanian spent most of his childhood 750 miles away, in Russia, dreaming of becoming an actor. He formed his first band while studying theatre and performance in Volgograd, before getting a taste of the international touring life as leading man of indie-folk sextet Хроники Края, aka Region Chronicles, until they called it a day in 2019.

Adopting the name PARG (a sobriquet he’s had since childhood) for his solo project, Vardanian has spent the past four years refining his songcraft into something that more broadly represents his interests and influences – and his big ambitions. Spurred on by his return to Armenia in 2022, PARG’s recent string of singles has seen him making ever bolder strides in infusing Armenian cultural references with modern pop production.

Whereas his recent homeland hit “Qo Mot”, commissioned by the Armenian equivalent of Netflix, shows PARG to be a dab hand at nostalgic, primetime ballads, new single “Kanchum Em” (I’m Calling) fits more urgency and yearning into its two and a half minutes than anything he’s made before. It’s a cinematic montage in the form of a pop song, building from a tentative start to a full-throated cry, with just the right amount of grit to sell PARG’s blunt sincerity as a lover walking wounded.

"It is kind of difficult, moving home and starting a new life, even though I had plenty of friends in Yerevan,” says PARG. "To me, ‘Kanchum Em’ is like a journey through longing and the vulnerability of being alone with yourself again. It’s a confession that love, when unanswered, becomes both an ache and a compass. That line, 'Give me time, I lose my mind,' is about chaos that love and deep need to connect can create – a sense of being lost, yet full hope. The song is an affirmation to be heard, even from afar. It's about searching for a sign in the midst of silence, a reminder that love, no matter the distance, has a way of reaching across the void and holding on."

Touching on themes of identity, belonging and personal growth, with lyrics in both English and Armenian, “Kanchum Em” successfully references PARG’s roots (“Kanchum em, ari ari” is a popular Armenian folk song) while sounding like something wholly his own.