Pianists and composers Vladimir Kurumilian and Luca Longobardi first met on SoundCloud a few years ago, following each other’s music.

The two artists shared a likeness for organic piano sounds and, surprisingly, a hidden hopelessly romantic side. Vladimir was drawn to Luca’s warm electronic touch to his piano sounds, which he rightfully described as ‘poetic’. Luca was mostly drawn to Vladimir’s absence of space and time in his melodies, leaving room for travel, discovery, and belonging.

Thanks to cosmic connections, if you asked Luca, they met for the first time in Rome in the fall of 2017, and later that winter worked on Dopamine, Vladimir Kurumilian’s first studio album, produced in Rome by Luca Longobardi and mixed and mastered in Beirut by Ziad Moukarzel, released to rave reviews in November 2018.

They were also joined by Ziad Ghosn, notorious B 018 resident DJ, for a set that included some of Dopamine’s special remixes by local DJs.

Photography by Myriam Boulos