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Movsisyan`s musical sensibilities came of age in a decade that took Armenia on a chaotic ride from the euphoria of independence to the hangover of the day after, and at last the long drawn reckoning with the realities of a socio-economic downward spiral. Despite the appalling living conditions, government corruption, and rampant cynicism, Movsisyan was among those who refused to join the mass exodus from the country. He stayed put and absorbed the often surreal phenomena borne of extreme circumstances, always on the lookout for the life-affirming aspect in a collective dream gone awry. Starting with his initial concert in 1988, when he registered an instant rapport with an audience of disenchanted students, Movsisyan`s stance was as simple as it was challenging. Leaving is for losers, he seemed to say. He also had to work very hard to prove his point. For both inspiration and a renewed sense of dignity, Movsisyan looked to the freedom fighters of Karabagh, the treasure-trove of Armenian folk music, the dialect of his ancestral Moush, and the immutable pleasures of living in Yerevan. He says he rediscovered swaths of meaning all around him, and was moved incessantly to celebrate the lot in his music.