“I have never done anything with a certain purpose. I have only done that which crosses my mind,” said Ruben Hakhverdyan during a press conference. Hakhverdyan is known not only for his songs, but also for his rather revolutionary and complex character. He considers it normal for Armenian citizens to get involved in political processes. “It is natural that each person chooses his party, even the cultural activist if, of course, he is a citizen of the country,” said Hakhverdyan.
Ruben Hakhverdyan has already chosen his party and has dedicated a song for that party. That song is always heard during the meetings organized by the ARF and on television. Hakhverdyan said that although he has sympathized with the “Dashnaktsutiun” (Federation) for a long time, however he wanted to present the initial, real meaning of that word because everyone is a federate. The ARF is a “proper” party for Hakhverdyan and most importantly, in his opinion, it is small in numbers.
“I have always supported parties with few members,” he said, disappointed that many newspapers accuse him of being politicized.
The song was written upon the request of the ARF for the campaign, but Hakhverdyan hopes that it will be loved and sung years later as well.
“You have to fulfill the request in a way so that you won’t be ashamed of yourself later on. There are temporary songs, but I would like for this song to live on for many years. My song called “The Snow” has stood the test of time. Will the song written for the “Dashnaktsutiun” stand the test of time? We will know five years later,” said Hakhverdyan.
Ruben Hakhverdyan still hasn’t been paid for the song.
“I will try to get as much as I can from it, perhaps 3,000 dollars.”
Hakhverdyan considers that normal because songwriting is sort of like making a living. According to him, songwriting is a matter of technique. He compared himself not with a romantic author filled with emotions, but rather a craftsman or an investigator, a police dog that searches for a long time, smells around, approaches the bone from the right and the left and then starts chewing it.
“Just like the dog spins around the bone, I spin like that around the song and find it…I don’t create anything; I can only find. I can only find the song and show it to people. Everything has already been created by God Almighty and He is universal harmony.”
Hakhverdyan said that he doesn’t write “incubator…jan-jan-badrijan” songs (songs easily produced, as if from an incubator). New songs are born once every two or three years.
Hakhverdyan is mostly worried about the numerous taboos existing in Armenian society. “We have become self-absorbed and inter-personal and that is why we don’t develop. The two things I have been most afraid of are the dark and dullness. They are horrible. There are many taboos in Armenian songs that I have always broken. Now all singers sing in the same manner.” According to Hakhverdyan, that manner has two branches-the State Theatre of Song and Ruben Matevosyan. “I know five singers who seem to be the photocopy of Ruben Matevosyan,” he said.