Conquest of the Pacific



Oaksenham is a progressive rock band from Armenia. Oaksenham was formed in 2001 by Vahagn Papayan (bass, bassoon) and Ashot Korganyan (drums), formerly of Dumbarton Oaks, with Valery Tolstov (flute). Soon guitarist Vardan Gasparyan and keyboard player Anna Adamyan joined, and later the band added drummer-turned-violinist Koryun Bobikyan. The band combines the traditions of academic music and rock. The complex rhythmic patterns, polyphonised melody, and jazz-influenced harmonies are mingled with a classic rock sound. The first live recording, Wodens Eve Live, self-released in 2002, was highly acclaimed in leading European and North American progressive-music magazines. On the 18th March 2004, at an exhibition organised by the British Council in Armenia, Oaksenham presented The Beatles-Fantasy, a five-part suite composed and arranged by Vahagn Papayan based on themes by The Beatles, performed the with Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra's woodwind quintet. Between August 2004 & January 2005 the first studio album, Conquest of the Pacific, was recorded at MDP Studio. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.