Urvakan Festival announces aya, Deena Abdelwahed and ZULI for 2022

The Armenian platform has revealed the first wave of acts for its second festival edition, taking place from 23-25 September.

Deena Abdelwahed, aya, ZULI and Zoë Mc Pherson are amongst the first names confirmed for Urvakan 2022. Other artists locked in so far include grindcore duo Duma, who will play live, Oramics member Avtomat and Kenyan producer Slikback.

The festival, which will be held at the Armenian Composers’ Union Resort in Dilijan, will also host a series of specially commissioned pieces. As part of this, Yerevan’s Ensemble Assonance will perform Eduard Hayrapetyan’s The Wind as a world premiere. Elsewhere, Vincent de Belleval and Nicolás Jaar are slated to present their performance piece Retaining The Energy, But Losing The Image.

Across the three-day festival, Urvakan has also confirmed sets from the likes of Senyawa, ABADIR, Jay Glass Dubs, Beirut Groove Collective and Nancy Mounir. This year also sees Urvakan team up with different curators, including local organisation Armenian National Music and also Discotchari who represent the Armenian diaspora in LA. Alongside the music programme, Urvakan Festival will also host a series of art installations, workshops, talks and screenings.

Head to the Urvakan website for tickets and further information. Listen back to a mix from aya below.