Azniv Korkejian has a voice like a wanderer, the kind who is happy to explore without maps or precision or path. Korkejian sings with intuition, wending inward, deeper into the heart of the matter, unafraid to bring the listener into the center of her intimacy. “Dusty Eyes” is the lead single off her smoky, dream-folk debut, the self-titled Bedouine, and it unfolds with the subtle nuances of a seduction or an argument. Bedouine is the French stylized take on the more traditional Arabic word for wanderer, bedouin, which nods to Korkejian’s heritage.
Though she has since spent plenty of time wandering the US, she was born in Aleppo, Syria — the site of one of the biggest humanitarian crises of the last decade — and grew up in Saudi Arabia with her Armenian parents. After relocating to America, Boston and Houston to be exact, she quickly got herself out to sunny LA. By calling herself Beduoine, Azniv can acknowledge her heritage while incorporating her own personal story, and twist it all together with the feminization of the spelling.
If the name seems clever, the record itself will draw you in even farther. “Dusty Eyes” is a meditation on infatuation and uncertainty that fuels much of our romantic experience. “I wrote ‘Dusty Eyes’ after coming home from what was clearly a final date,” Korkeijan told The Fader, who premiered the track. “It’s about infatuation, interrupted by the attempt to intellectualize it; trying to perceive the object as interchangeable. It nods to the common if not predictable cycle when love presents a challenge. This particular object of my affection had flecks of color in his eyes like particles of dust in a sun beam, thus the title.” Watch the tender, vintage video for the track above.
The song builds to a cyclic climax at the end that speaks of intense longing but never reaches a hysterical moment, the soft, honeyed touch of Spacebomb production is present throughout, whether it’s golden horns or sumptuous strings. To further add to her allure, Korkejian worked with the legendary Smokey Hormel to write this album, penning approximately thirty songs over the course of three years. Nothing about this record is rushed, and nothing was over-planned, it all feels as natural as a beam of light glancing off a windowsill. Listen to “Dusty Eyes” above and look for a lot more from Bedouine coming soon.
Bedouine will be out 6/23 via Spacebomb Records. Pre-order it here.
