USA - Serart is a collaboration between System of a Down's Serj Tankian and world class multi-instrumentalist Arto Tunçboyaciyan. Serart will be released by Serjical Strike and Columbia Records on May 20.

"It's not a rock album, it's not a band, it's not a solo album for me," says Serj Tankian. "It's a collaboration that I was compelled to do with a very creative artist. It's a very special type of album."

It is important to note that Serart is not at all similar to a SOAD album - it's a departure away from SOAD's progressive-metal barrage. Serart finds these two, seemingly disparate, creative artists joining for a new vision. Serj describes the album best, "It's really crazy world, jazz and experimental with some rock and hip-hop beats, dance beats, and electronic beats. Arto plays the Coke bottle, water droplets, an ancient flute, percussion of all sorts, little toys and shakers."

The music on Serart is both "cross genre and cross cultural," an exotic and eclectic blend of electronica, poetry, Middle Eastern melodies, Pan-African rhythms, classical motifs melded with volleys of percussion. In addition to the 16 musical tracks on the album, Serart comes with a DVD component, the 14 minute experimental film, "Sun Angle Calculator," directed and edited by Matthew Amato. "The film is a visual collage," says Serj. "The name, 'Sun Angle Calculator,' is a funny way of saying 'let me help you see the light.'"

[Buy Serart].