Ladaniva

Formed in Lille in 2019, Ladaniva brings together Armenian singer Jaklin Baghdasaryan, who was born in Yeghegnadzor and lived in Minsk before settling in France, and Lille musician Louis Thomas. The duo’s music draws on Armenian folk, Balkan traditions, chanson, rhythms from Africa and Latin America, and maloya, taking an acoustic, fluid approach that brings together multiple languages and cultural currents. Ladaniva first attracts attention in 2020 with the tracks “Vay Aman” and “Zepyuri Nman”, then builds a wider audience on festival and world music stages across Europe. Their debut EP, Ladaniva, is released in 2020, followed by the album Ladaniva in 2023. At the heart of Ladaniva’s repertoire is Jaklin Baghdasaryan’s supple, deeply expressive voice, supported by arrangements that weave together groove, folk melodies, and musical colours from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. In 2024, Ladaniva represents Armenia at Eurovision with “Jako”, bringing the duo greater visibility without changing the project’s overall direction, which remains rooted in a dialogue between folk heritage, pop songwriting, and openness across national borders.