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.