Arthur Meschian

Who is Arthur Meschian?

Arthur Meschian is an Armenian rock musician, singer, composer, artist and architect. He is also known as one of the founders of Armenian rock. He is the author of different architectural projects, including Guest House and the new building of Matenadaran in Armenia.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Meschian was the leader of the Apostles, an Armenian underground rock band that become the voice of the generation during the period of stagnation and Soviet censorship. The band consisted of three students of the Yerevan State Politechnic Institute were singing about pain and sorrow. General themes in the songs included the philosophy of life's meaning, pain and mercy or joy and pride.

In 1976, Apostles was banned by Soviet censorship. In 1989, before the fall of the Iron Curtain, Meschian moved to the United States with his family, settling in Boston. He formed the Apostles-90 band and recorded four studio albums featuring both old works from Apostles as well as new songs.

"Catharsis" was a very popular album with some of the best-known Apostles songs such as "Song of conscience", "Steps", "I used to know", "With the pain of the world" and "Where were you, God?" In 1996, he returned to Armenia and become the Chief architect of Yerevan, before returning to Boston, where he worked as an architect.