by Paula Edelstein

World-class guitar virtuoso Armik plays 12 exquisite songs on his sixth release for the BajaTSR label titled Rosas Del Amor. He tops his best-selling Isla del Sol by using fresh romantic themes based on his journeys through Spain. Each song is as pure and fragile as a moment in life itself, simply said, like the life of a rose. Armik plays 12 different guitars in order to bring the individual melodies and arrangements of each song to the anticipated desire of his listeners. His flair for dramatic imagery is readily apparent on the opening track titled "Lovers in Madrid." Armik immediately captivates you with his lyricism -- holding on to you with dynamic but graceful chord stylings. It's an invitation to pure love. "Midnight in Barcelona" continues his romantic journey through Spain and captures the excitement of Barcelona at midnight with dramatic punctuation, colors, rhythms, and textures. The eighth rose in this compositional bouquet is the title track, "Rosas del Amor" -- a breathtaking flamenco rumba that exudes truly deep and loving red colors that the master guitarist takes straight to your heart. All of the compositions were written by Armik who plays each of them with a special touch and with a mastery reminiscent of the great Andres Segovia. These 12 sketches of Spain are truly vivid and vary in sumptuous flamenco and Latin jazz tones that Armik contrasts with gorgeous improvisations.