At 22, after completing his military service, an old man told him he would never succeed within the genre of blues and rock—this was the push Caspian needed. “Anyway, I decided to do it,” he says, “because I love it, it comes naturally, I don’t think.” And so began his musician’s life, as he calls it. But at the time, there was only one place where he could play in Yerevan called Stop Club. “That’s it, no pubs, no clubs and nobody who wanted to listen,” he says.

He spent seven years in the UK and Europe but realized that everything had already been done, not only regarding music but also regarding culture and lifestyle. “I understood that [in Artsakh] we deserve some kind of a better life, and then this landscape was calling me back,” he says.

In 2017, he returned, taught his friend the bass and played at Bardak Pub in Stepanakert, Artsakh’s capital—it all grew from there. Now at 38 years old, he and his band are invited to play around Armenia and Artsakh, often traveling to Yerevan for shows. While the music scene and the cultural vibrance has drastically improved over the last 10-15 years, Caspian prefers to stay in his homeland, as there is still work to be done.

“They still can’t believe. They still live in fear. And rock & roll makes them feel and believe in themselves,” he says. Through this, he adds that blues and rock music have inspired the young generation to learn guitar, drums and bass rather than just the traditional and classical instruments, which were essentially the only options in the past. “I am so happy for that. And I hope it will change more,” he says.

Caspian writes when he is inspired and tries to look forward rather than reminisce. “I only feel lost time and a lost childhood when I start to look back, I can’t play,” he says. He sings in Armenian, Russian and English, and the band is currently working on recording their first fully-English CD.

“We live in the war, in a frozen war, and it can happen any time and everyone here is a soldier,” he says. That is why the hope music brings isn’t just important to him, but to Artsakh as well. “It’s one step closer to freedom. When we play, there is a completely different atmosphere than usual.”