Georgia - Svanetia and Tbilisi Part I

 Georgia is a small country in Eastern Europe with a long history.  It is known as the cradle of wine-making, which automatically makes it a bucket list country for me, but so far I haven't made it there yet.  There are fewer than 4 million people living here.  Its musical traditions are ancient and are known for the early development of polyphony, which has been declared an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO. 

From our last stop in Turkey, we carry on along the Black Sea shore, before entering Georgia and taking a right turn into the mountains to the region of Svanetia and its capital Mestia.  in this remote region, cut off by snow for much of the year, the Riho Ensemble of Mestia strut their stuff.  As far as I know, they haven't recorded any albums that are available internationally, but there is a 2003 DVD called Riho de Mestia - The Polyphonies of Svanetia, which is still available.  Here is a song and dance performance by them called Shishada gergili:

Just outside Mestia is the small village of Lakhushdi, which calls itself the singing village due to the fact that 11 out of the 17 families sing traditional polyphonies.  So in 2020 3 of the younger inhabitants got together to record an album, namely Ana & Madona Chamgeliani and Levan Bitarovi.  They appropriately called the album from The Singing Village (Lakhushdi) and here is an extended extract from it and other singing whilst showing of some village life in the Svanetian mountains. Incidentally, there seems to be an eco-lodge in the village if you ever feel inclined to get the authentic experience in person.

Some years ago a video went viral of 3 young girls singing in polyphonics accompanied by a pandura (a 3-stringed lute) while walking through a Georgian village scene filming themselves with a selfie-stick.  These girls were the Trio Mandili, who have now become internationally famous, regularly touring around the world and even representing Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest.  The 3 members are actually from different parts of Georgia, but are now based in the capital Tbilisi. Their enthusiasm is infectious and their harmonies impeccable.  Here is the video that launched their career called Apareka, which is also the opening track to their 2015 debut album With Love:

And here is another cute wee video of them featuring a wee donkey:

Composer, singer and pianist Russudan Meipariani was born in Tbilisi in 1975.  Classically trained she combines classical music with minimal music and Georgian polyphonic singing. She is now based in Germany.  In 2024 she collaborated with Tbilisi based male choir Ensemble Anchiskhati to produce an album called Voices & Mountains and this is a track from the album called Aragvi:

In the year 2000 another all-male choir was founded in Tbilisi called the Basiani Ensemble.  They have since been elevated to State Ensemble and perform all over Georgia and internationally bringing traditional Georgian polyphonics to the world.  Here is a live performance of a traditional table song called Chakrulo from their snappily titled 2019 Year Album - Booklet, which unsurprisingly came out in 2019. Spoiler alert: you don't get a booklet if you purchase the album...

All female ensemble Ialoni were established in Tbilisi in 2016.  Their repertoire includes ecclesiastical, folk and city music from Georgia.  Here is a potpourri of city songs from their 2016 album From Sunrise to Sunset:

Finally, another male polyphonic choir, IBERI was founded in 2012 in Tbilisi. The title of their 2022 album Supra translates as feast, which is an activity the Georgians seem to be very fond of.  Apparently, if you buy the CD version it comes with a Georgian cookbook! Here is an orchestral version of a song from the album called Harira (The Person):

That's it for today, next we'll be exploring the more contemporary sounds of Tbilisi, as well as music from the rest of the country.  Meanwhile, as usual, you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.

Türkiye - Eastern Anatolia & the Black Sea Coast

 Heading east out of Ankara we head to the town of Şarkışla, where on of Turkey's most famous folk poets Âşık Veysel was born in 1894.  He lived there all his life and died in 1973.  Also born in this town was in 1945 was singer and actress Emel Sayın, although she subsequently moved around the country quite a bit.  She sings classical Turkish music, later also incorporating film music and acting in her career. Here's a song called Yağdır Mevlam Su, which features on her 2007 album Sizlerle (Sevgisiz Yaşayamam): 

Moving north to the coastal city of Samsun on the Black Sea coast, where we meet baglama virtuoso, composer and singer Orcan Gencebay who was born in 1944.  He is of Crimean Tartar descent and was named State Artist of Turkey in 1998.  He combines Arabesque music with more contemporary elements, including pop, folk and rock.  Here is the title track from his 2024 album Hatasiz Kul Olmaz with some helpful German subtitles:

We haven't had any Anatolian rock for a while, so next we are heading to the Black Sea city of Trabzon, where 1970's Anatolian rock band 3 Hür-El hail from.  Founded in 1970 by the three 3 Hürel brothers with Feridun on a double-necked electric guitar and saz.  They became one of the most popular Psychedelic rock bands in Turkey at the time.  In 1977 they disbanded as 2 of the brothers were called into military service and at the same time losing their mother to a tragic road accident.  They briefly reformed in the late 1990's and recorded about 4 albums during their 2 stints.  Some of their material is now being re-released by German label Turkish vinyl, such as their self-titled 1972 album.  Here is a live performance of their song Sevenler Ağlarmış during their peak in 1974.

As we carry on following the coastal road eastwards we come to the town of Çayeli, where folk singer Ayşenur Kolivar was born in 1976.  She has been part of the Istanbul ensemble Kardeş Türküler and other bands, but also has a successful solo career.  She specialises on the folk traditions of the eastern Black Sea region.  Here is a song from her 2011 album Bahceye Hanimeli called Getma:

The traditional music of Turkey's Black Sea region is different from the rest of the country and shares more resemblances with some Bulgarian mountain music, including the use of the bagpipe or tulum as the local version is known as.  So we take a short hop and a skip to the village of Kestanelik, where tulum player Emin Yağci was born in 1965.  Sadly he died of cancer last year.  He is recognised as one of the masters of the instrument and here is a track from his 2011 album Tulum (A Sound from the Black Sea) called Ey Gidi Karlı Dağlar:

That's it from Turkey for the moment, next we are going on a 3 country excursion of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia before returning to finish of the south-eastern part of Turkey. In the meantime you can follow my virtual musical road trip on my tripline map. 

Türkiye - Ankara

 

Amkara Castle.  Photo credit: By Bernard Gagnon - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37705866

We arrive in Ankara, the capital city of Türkiye in the geographical centre of the country.  It is only the second largest city after Istanbul with 5.1 million inhabitants.

This is where musician and composer Erkan Oğur was born in 1954.  He is a pioneer of the fretless classical guitar, which he invented in 1976 to obtain more detailed notes for traditional Turkish music.  He is also a master on other string instruments such as the baglama and oud.  He has collaborated widely with musicians in Turkey and even blues musicians in the USA and is still active to this day.  Here is a song he plays with Derya Türka called Zahit Bizi Tan Eyleme, which he recorded with İsmail Hakkı Demircioğlu on their 2000 album Anadolu Beşik:

Oud player and teacher Gülçin Yahya Kaçar was born in Ankara in 1966 to a family originating in Greece, which was part of the great population exchange.  Her family discovered her musical talent early on and she went on to study music and the oud at university, specialising in Classical Turkish music.  She is mainly teaching the instrument these days and has written books on it, rather than being a major recording artist.  But here is her latest single called Gülizâr Sirto:

I don't know where or when singer and pianist Süeda Çatakoğlu was born, but she now resides in Boston, where she is developing her skills in jazz composition, jazz piano and contemporary writing and production at Berklee College of Music.  She combines the jazz elements with Turkish folk as on her 2022 album Süeda Sings Sezen, where she interprets some songs from the legendary Sezen Aksu, which I mentioned in my last post. She is accompanied by a host of international guests on the album and here is a song from the album called El Gibi:

 Finally we are making a song and dance for folk music group the Radio Ankara Music Ensemble.  Don't know much about them, except what it says on the tin, and that they are performing traditional folk music from various regions of the country.  Here is a song from their 1996 album Songs and Dances of Turkey called Folk Song from Adiyaman:

That's it from Ankara, next we are heading to the northeast of the country and the Black Sea coast.  Until then you can check out my virtual travels on my Tripline map.

Türkiye - Between Izmir & Ankara

 Next on our virtual trip through Türkiye, we're heading to the southwestern city of Muğla, where singer / songwriter Selda Bağcan was born in 1948.  She was born into a musical family and started playing the mandolin at the age of 5, later picking up the guitar and baglama.  She went to university in Ankara, she became interested in Turkish folk, influenced by the likes of Cem Karaca, Barış Manço and Fikret Kızılok.  Like her influences, she often incorporated elements of rock and psychedelia into her music.  She met many of her idols in a music club her brothers ran in Ankara, and performed there herself.  Her often critical lyrics got her into trouble with the authorities many times, but made her a darling of the political left.  Here is a song called Ağlama Anne, which features on her 2014 40th year anniversary album 40 Yılın 40 Şarkısı:

Singer / songwriter Sezen Aksu was born in the municipality of Sarayköy in the Denizli province of western Turkey in 1954.  She is one of the most successful Turkish singers, having sold more than 40 million albums and written more than 500 songs, and has been dubbed 'Queen of Turkish Pop'.  Her songs are very much influenced by Anatolian folk and are generally upbeat and positive, although she has never been shy to speak up for minorities and the disadvantaged and has helped fundraise for disaster relief such as the 1990 earthquake.  Here is a song called Ihanetten Geri Kalan (Remnants of Betrayal), which features on her 2017 album Biraz Pop Biraz Sezen:

Singer Dilek Koç was born on Antalya on the south coast of Turkey. She sings both in Turkish and Greek, incorporating folk influences from both traditions, and in fact lives in Greece these days.  Here is a song from her 2020 album Songs of Cappadocia called Kaleden Kaleye:

Folk singer Feryal Öney was born in Akşehir in the Middle Anatolia region in 1970.  In 1987 she relocated to Istanbul, where she studied music and founded Kardeş Türküler (Songs of Fraternity).  Later she began recording solo albums singing folk songs of her home region, with a modern electrified twist.  Here is a live version of a song from her 2006 album Bulutlar Geçer (Clouds Pass By) called Irak Olduk:

Turkish folk singer Ramazan Kubat, better known as just Kubat, was actually born in Belgium in 1974, but to a family of poets and musicians from the town of Emirdağ in Afyonkarahisar province in central Turkey.  Now based back in Turkey, he combines Anatolian folk with electronic instrumentation.  Here is his latest single called Arabaşı:

That's it for this leg, next we're heading into Ankara itself.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.

Türkiye - Istanbul to Izmir

 As we are heading out of Istanbul we stop in the eastern neighbourhood of Kadıköy, where actress and pop singer GülbenErgen was born in 1972.  Apparently she is hugely popular in Türkiye and her albums have sold in the millions.  Here is her just released single called Nanik:

During the height of his career, clarinettist Mustafa Kandıralı (1930-2010) was known as the sound of the holidays as he hosted a morning show on the radio.  As a 13 year old he ran away from his hometown of Kandıra, 150km on foot, to Istanbul.  He dabbled in many different Anatolian genres, as well as making it internationally in the jazz world, even playing with Louis Armstrong once.  Here is just a bit of a flavour of the man, playing an Anatolian dance tune called Bahriye Çiftetellisi:

Next we are heading south along the west coast of Turkey to Bursa.  This is where composer, ney and bendir player Mercan Dede aka DJ Arkin Allen was born in 1966.  Born as Arkın Ilıcalı, he now lives in Canada producing a fusion of traditional acoustic Turkish and other oriental styles with electronic sounds.  He is also heavily influenced by Sufism and much of his music has a hypnotic quality.  He has accumulated many international awards, including best World Music Album by Womex for his 2007 album 800.  Here is a song from that album called Istanbul:

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Özgür Çelik was born in 1979 in the city of Uşak in the interior part of the Aegean region.  He was born into a family of artisan instrument makers and learned to play the instruments his father made, such as the baglama, the kabak kemane and others, from an early age.  He is now a lecturer at the Aegean University.  On his 2012 solo album Öznağme he showcases many of the different instruments he plays.

Next we are heading to the Aegean coast to the city of Bergama, where Roma clarinettist Hüsnü Şenlendirici was born in 1976.  He comes from a long line of musicians with his father and grandfather both playing clarinet and trumpet.  He is now considered one of the foremost proponents of the Turkish clarinet.  On his 2010 album Ege'nin iki yani (Both sides of the Aegean) he combines with Greek Trio Chi for a meeting of cultures across the sea.  Here's a song from this album called Gel Gel Kayikci (Come, come boatman):

Hüsnü Şenlendirici is also part of Izmir based Roma funk band Laço Tayfa.  This 8-piece ensemble combine Anatolian rhythms with contemporary funk and even reggae sounds.  Here is a tune from their 2002 album Hicaz Dolap called Atmaca:

That's it for today.  As usual you follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.

Türkiye - Istanbul Part III

 Continuing in the metropolis that is Istanbul we next encounter the Taksim Trio.  The term Taksim apparently means improvisation.  The 3 members are each masters of their instruments, namely the clarinet played by Hüsnü Şenlendirici, Ismail Tunçbilek on the baglama and Aytaç Doğan on the qanun.  There music is a blend of avant-garde jazz and Arabesque and exudes a beautifully atmospheric sound.  Here's a tune from their 2007 self-titled album called Gözüm:

Folk singer Çiğdem Aslan was born in Istanbul in 1980 to a Kurdish-Alevi background.  She sings in a variety of languages and styles including Rebetika, but also folk styles from various parts of Anatolia and Sephardic music.  She is known for her rich, earthy voice.  Here is a song from her 2016 album A Thousand Cranes called Tourna:

The DEM Trio is a group of musicians highlighting the sounds of the bağlama and tambur string instruments and the mixed cultural heritage of the city of Istanbul.  Occasionally they record as a an extended group, the DEM Ensemble as on their 2013 album Erguvan, named after a small pink flower symbolising Istanbul.  Here is a tune from that album, performed as a trio only, called Sabahın seherinde ötüyor kuşlar (Birds are singing in the morning):

Also drawing on the Rebetiko or Rembetiko tradition is the orchestra Café Aman Istanbul, who were founded in 2009.  They are reviving the spirit of the Café Aman taverns that were a symbol of the melting-pot culture of the Ottoman Empire of a century ago.  Here is a song from their 2012 album Fasl-ı Rembetiko called Apo To Vradi Os To Proi:

We already came across percussionist Burhan Öçal in Thrace playing with the Thracian Allstars.  Before that he led the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble.  Here is the opening track from their 1998 album Sultan's Secret Door called Mahur Oriental:

Indie folk band Zeyn'el draw their inspiration from the Anatolian troubadors of the 14th to 16th century, giving them a modern twist and touch upon their relevance to today, talking about prejudice and injustice.  Here is the opening song from their 2013 album Divan & Divine called Elâ gözlü pirim geldi with some nice scenery from Istanbul:

The Kolektif Istanbul focus on the musical cross between Anatolian cultures, Balkan wedding music, Jazz and funk.  With traditional string instruments and a fair peppering of brass they kick up quite a storm.  Here is the opening track from their 2008 album Krivoto called Makedonsko: 

That's it from Istanbul for now, even though there are many more artists I could mention.  Next we are travelling down the west coast of Turkey, in the meantime you follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.  

Türkiye - Istanbul Part II

 We continue our exploration of Istanbul with one of the pioneers of Anatolian Rock, the band Moğollar (The Mongols).  They started of in 1968 blending Turkish folk with western rock and psychedelia.  They quickly gained a big following internationally and drew comparison with Pink Floyd.  For a while Cem Karaca was a member as soloist.  They disbanded in 1976, but reformed in 1993 and are still going to this day.  With the recent revival in Anatolian rock, some of their albums have recently been reissued, such as their 1976 self-titled album.  Here's the opening track called Katip Arzuhalim Yaz Yare Böyle:

Carrying the torch of modern Anatolian psych rock with a real vintage feel is Istanbul native Umut Adan.  Now based in Italy, some of his songs contain criticism of his homeland.  He has only had one international release so far his 2019 album Bahar (Spring).  Here is a track from it called Şeytanın Aklını Çeldim:

The A.G.A Trio a Trans-caucasian/Anatolian collaboration between 3 musicians from Armenia, Georgia and Turkey (the name standing for Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia), the Turkish contribution being from Deniz Mahir Kartal, a kaval player from Istanbul.  The other two are Mikhail Yakut from Turkey, but of Georgian descent on accordion and Armenian Arsen Petrosyan on duduk.  They play on the similarities of their respective regions, whilst inventing their own soundscape.  In this tune from their 2024 album Araxes (named after a river in the Caucasus) they play a dance tune common in all 3 regions, but under different names: Shalakho / Kintauri / Karabağ:

Derya Türkan, born in Istabul in 1973, is a master of the classical Turkish kemençe, a 3-stringed bowed fiddle played upright on the knee.  There are various versions of the instrument throughout the region, including in Greece where it is known as the politiki lyra.  He has collaborated with many different acts, including Greek lyra player Sokratis Sinopoulos, exploring the similarities of their cultures.  They released an album in 2020 called Soundplaces, in which they take listeners on a journey through different places between Greece and Turkey, which have a shared history. Sadly none of the tunes from the album are available on YouTube, so here is another tune of theirs from their 2001 album Letters from Istanbul called Uşşak Şarkı:

Kardeş Türküler are a large folk band founded in 1993 at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul.  They incorporate influences from all over the region including Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian and Alevian.  Here's a song from their 2017 album Yol called Halâlê:

Another kemençe player from Istanbul is young Melisa Yildirim.  She grew up in a family from the Alevi branch of Islam.  She collaborates with a wide variety of musicians from around the world, influenced by Sufi music, Anatolian folk as well as Iranian genres and contemporary music.  One of her collaborations is with Israeli guitarist Gilad Weiss, with whom she recorded their 2021 album Talûş (Link: null).  This tune, Seven Lakes, does not feature on the album, but gives a flavour of their beautifully relaxing style:

We'll leave it at that for today.  As usual you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.