Bedouine

A Syrian-born, Los Angeles-based songwriter who draws on ’60s and ’70s folk and country influences for her glimmering yet intense songs, Azniv Korkejian began crafting her retro-fitted indie folk as Bedouine in the mid-2010s. She released her eponymous debut album in 2017, followed by the acclaimed Bird Songs of a Killjoy and Waysides in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Korkejian was born in Aleppo, Syria and spent her childhood in Saudi Arabia before relocating to the U.S. in early childhood, living in various places throughout her early years before arriving in Los Angeles as an adult. She studied sound design and eventually landed work editing music and dialogue for film, crossing paths with active players in both the movie and music industries as she developed her sound. She found herself making various connections with a growing community of supportive peers and began working with producer Gus Seyffert — almost by accident when Korkejian stopped by his studio to ask advice about a piece of gear, moving casually from talking shop to recording a demo of one of her songs in the span of an afternoon. Bedouine’s self-titled debut album was released in the summer of 2017 on the Spacebomb label; its ten tracks were the best selection of about 30 songs she worked on over a three-year period. Widely hailed by critics, the album put Korkejian on the map and she set about working on a follow-up release. A late-2018 two-song single saw her covering Elton John and Linda Perhacs in her typically hushed, introspective style. Bedouine re-emerged in June 2019 with her Billboard-charting sophomore album, Bird Songs of a Killjoy. Early 2021 saw the arrival of the singles “The Wave,” “It Wasn’t Me,” and “The Solitude” ahead of the release of her third long-player, Waysides, which appeared later that October. ~ Fred Thomas