Armik

From an early age, new flamenco guitarist Armik showed a deep fascination with music. At seven he traded his watch for a classical guitar that he concealed while honing his skills in the basement. After taking formal lessons he finished the Rudolph Solphege program in just two years, turning professional as a recording artist by twelve. Although his initial work centered on jazz, a visit to Spain in the seventies introduced him to the expressive power of flamenco, prompting a move to Los Angeles where he collaborated with fellow musicians both onstage and in the studio.

His first solo album, Rain Dancer, arrived in 1994 to strong reviews and sales, followed the next year by Gypsy Flame. By then his standing in the flamenco community had grown enough that master Spanish luthier Pedro Maldonado built him a custom instrument called the Rubia; Armik titled and recorded his 1996 release with that guitar. Malaga came out in 1997, the fifth album Isla del Sol appeared in 1999, and Rosas del Amor reached listeners in spring 2001. With 2002’s Lost in Paradise he shaped a sensual, refined sound that offered a fresh perspective on his traditional flamenco roots.

Armik’s recordings have repeatedly placed in the Top Ten of Billboard’s best-selling new age albums. During the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, two of his tracks accompanied Romanian gymnast Daniela Sofronie’s floor exercises. That same year he launched his own Bolero imprint with the album Romantic Dreams. Subsequent projects included Mar de Sueños and the compilation Desires: The Romantic Collection, and his pace of releases quickened markedly over the next decade, yielding roughly one album annually. Alongside pure flamenco efforts such as Cafe Romantico in 2005 and Casa de Amor in 2012, he explored thematic works like A Day in Brazil (2008) and Christmas Wishes (2006). A 2014 Greatest Hits set surveyed his first decade on Bolero Records, after which he issued three volumes in the Romantic Spanish Guitar series. He returned to his own compositions with Enamor in 2017 and Pacifica in 2018, marking his twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth albums for the label.