5 Selects: Bei Ru (Los Angeles)

Bei Ru is an LA-based producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist who’s collected vinyl records for years. His collection mirrors elements of his releases, characterized by a fusion of airy, syrupy electronic, soul, psych, Middle Eastern, house, and funk influences — yet fans may be surprised to discover the impressive range and diversity of sounds in his collection. In part that open ended sonic curiosity comes from his work as a hip-hop producer. The search for distinctive samples to incorporate into his tracks has led him through countless stacks of vinyl at record shops. Also his Armenian heritage, alongside the collection of older Arabic records from his parents weaved a rich tapestry of music around him. All of these influences find a home in his distinctive sound.

He’ll be playing from his archive of records this Friday at the Moroccan Lounge at one of the legendary ‘Silk Road Secret Agents’ parties by beloved outfit Discotchari, whose label, event, and party series focus on the rich musical history of Armenian music from all over the diaspora.

Tickets are available now for this all-night vinyl party: https://themoroccan.com/tm-event/silk-road-secret-agents/

In anticipation of the event, Bei Ru sat down for a chat and shared five selections from his collection that’ve been on heavy rotation over the years, along with his thoughts and personal history with each one.

Pete Jolly – Seasons (1970)

“The first pick is a record I probably listen to more than anything, and I’ve had this one for quite a while. Pete Jolly is a piano player and most of his catalog is pretty tame, but this one album in particular, which recently got reissued, he plays electric piano and these other weird electronic instruments. The entire album is improvised with some great musicians and it’s just a beautiful listen from start to finish. It gets kind of moody and in parts it gets really light. Overall, It’s just very funky. There’s great percussion in it too and unfortunately, he hasn’t released anything like that since. It goes for a lot of money these days, but fortunately I was able to find it back before it kind of blew up. Shout out to Chris at Record Surplus in Los Angeles who put me onto it.”

Harout Pamboukjian – Minchev Eguc (1980)

“Harout Pamboukjian is one of the more well known, if not the most well-known Armenian singers. I didn’t even know this record existed in his catalog, but it’s amazing because he doesn’t have any other double albums and musically it just runs the gamut. I even reached out to some people I knew who are up on his music, and they hadn’t heard of it either. It came out in 1980, and the title Minchev Eguc, translates to something like “Until it Comes”. There are parts that are really beautiful and psychedelic sounding, with some more up-tempo and kind of funky stuff in there. It definitely has some traditional middle eastern musical elements in his style, and overall it’s a really beautiful album. Luckily it’s on YouTube, but I haven’t seen any copies of it anywhere since I found it, so I guess I got lucky.

When I was younger, I would kind of push away some of the Armenian culture to be honest. I’ve always loved elements like the food and history, but the music I always felt like it wasn’t really my thing. I thought it was a little corny, and kind of classical leaning. My parents didn’t really listen to this funky stuff, so once I started to find records like this one, I realized there’s this whole other world that I wasn’t aware of that was amazing. It feels like my own personal connection to the culture, and I was able to find that connection on my own. That was really a mind-blowing moment for me.”

Abdou El Omari – Nuits D’Été (1976)

“Abdou El Omari has two albums and they’re both incredible. They both have this incredible photo of him with his organ and ancient ruins behind him, so it’s just visually beautiful. After I got the record, I found out that he was playing a Farfisa, which I eventually tracked down and bought just because I just love the sound of that particular organ so much. I had been hearing it on a lot of Middle Eastern records and some African stuff, and finally I realized the instrument behind it all. The music itself is amazing and unique, and it’s a record I’m always coming back to, and something that I don’t really see people talk about often enough. There’s reissues that’ve been circulating for quite a while, but I feel like it just doesn’t get its due.”

Lend A Hand – Lend A Hand (1973)

“Some might be surprised that a folk record would be one of my picks, but I think once you get really into the music, there are really no limits. I listen to the quality of the vocals, lyrics, musicality, and the recording itself. There are so many things that can inspire your own music without sounding similar to the kind of music you end up making. I found this record randomly maybe a month ago, and it’s from a private press label from Florida. It’s a unique one, and it has some elements of folk, rock and some psychedelia mixed in there. There are a few female vocalists that are on it , and it’s incredible with some weird oddball moments in there too.”

The Dave Pike Set – Riff For Rent (1972)

“This record was all recorded live in Europe, and overall just really interesting musically. It has Dave Pike on vibraphone with some guitar, drums, bass, and some electric sitar that’s on the second side. It really stretches out and it gets to the point where it kind of defies any genre, which is something I really love. Especially when it comes from more traditional jazz musicians or any genre really. It’s another record that doesn’t get its due and it’s available for very little money. It’s a really adventurous record and it’s always spoken to me.”