Sophia Yukhanyan
photographed by grisha petrosyan
How did you find this place? The location is amazing.
This is my mom’s friend’s place who lives in the USA. We have been renting it with Hakob, my husband, for almost three years since covid started. Yes, what I like about the location is that it’s situated in the small center and this is the quietest area of it. So, the noise is little and everything is nearby, I do not use a car or taxi at all.
What is your favorite spot in the apartment if you have it?
The flat is so small that I don’t really have one. It’s so small that you don’t have privacy here at all, only in the toilet, ha-ha. During summer I like spending time on our small balcony, but usually I am working with my laptop in the kitchen or on the sofa in the living room.
There are lots of vintage objects in here, were they here or did you bring them?
Well, firstly, when we came here, there was a huge ugly rug on the floor, so we replaced it with our carpets. All the old furniture is also from here. Lamps, speakers and everything connected to music is ours, we brought it here. The carpets are from Vernissage, which is situated near us. The lamps are from List.am, Hakob found all of them, the Meblo lamp he also bought from there this winter. He loves everything connected to light a lot, sometimes I think that we have too many lamps. But it’s quite nice to play with different lights when it’s dark outside.
What was the last thing you bought for the apartment?
I think it was this Meblo lamp I talked about which Hakob bought from List.am. Actually, it was not for sale, it was in the background of the photo, something else was being sold in the ad. But Hakob called and asked if they might sell it and they agreed.
What do you do at home when you are alone?
Usually, I listen to music and work. I work at the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra as the conductor’s assistant, sometimes I work remotely from home. Everybody imagines me as if I am also a conductor, but no, I have a musical education but I don’t do music now. I am also an economist by education, but I always choose a job that involves music and creativity.
So, is this why you have so much musical stuff here?
I have these speakers also at my family house, I have been around musical equipment since I was born. My dad was a musician and the love of music in me came from him. And this is the best soviet amplifier, it’s called BRIG, my dad had all this equipment. When Hakob came to our family house and saw all that stuff, he bought the same for our flat later. And nearly all of the vinyl was bought by me, but not all of the records are here. We lent most of it to a friend, he opened a cafe near our house and now people listen to our records there.
What do you listen to when you are at home?
Mostly I listen to 60s music. I have been listening to it since I was born, I had like a 60s music injection and I can’t get rid of it. Also listen to classic rock, psychedelic rock, jazz, blues.
Tell us about all these beautiful plants you have. Who is taking care of them?
I always said that when I live separately, I will have lots of plants, but Hakob surpassed me and now he brings home more plants than me. And he is caring for flowers very well, so I don’t worry about them and I don’t disturb him in his job. There are a few flowers which are quite unique, therefore I take care of them.
There is a joke, that plants are the new family animals, and animals are the new babies, so who are babies? And the babies are the new exotic animals which are very expensive to take care of.
Ha-ha, yes, but we can’t have an animal here also, because the flat is very small as you can see.
And no place for a piano.
Totally.
Do you have a lot of guests here?
Yes, we quite often have guests here, but we limit the number of guests so there will be enough space to move. Like it’s more for a 5-person party.
Can you make us a small playlist of songs you usually play during such parties?
The playlist mostly depends on our mood and it can be very controversial, depending on the “line up” of the guests. But mostly here you can listen to pieces of 60s classic rock, jazz, soul, darkly sensual songs and even Armenian old pop songs which I adore. Here is a short list of “What to expect if you are our guest” songs.
1. Ars Nova - Pavan for My Lady
2. Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues
3. Sade - Love Is Stronger Than Pride
4. Pink Floyd - Remember a Day
5. Massive Attack - Mezzanine
6. Duran Duran - Come Undone
7. Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy
8. Tony, Caro and John - Apocalypso
9. Geoge Michael - The Strangest Thing
10. Manuel Menenkichian - Yerchangoutyan Artzounknere
