Photo credit: By Joan - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6728097
Next we are taking the ferry from Türkiye over to Cyprus. Cyprus is mostly known as a holiday destination given it's mild climate and beach resorts. It only gained independence from Britain in 1963. The 2 main ethnic groups on the island, the Greeks and the Turks, were at loggerheads about the future direction of the island, and following an invasion by Turkish troops in 1974 the island was effectively split in half by a UN patrolled buffer zone into the Turkish speaking north, which unilaterally declared independence, and the Greek speaking south. Northern Cyprus is only recognised as a country by Türkiye. There are ongoing efforts to reunite the 2 halves of the island.
Musically and culturally the 2 halves are of course also influenced by Türkiye and Greece respectively, although some musicians have started bridging the divide. Our first stop in the North is the abandoned village of Achna (Düzce in Turkish), which is just north of the buffer zone. After the Turkish invasion the predominantly Greek population de-camped a few miles south and rebuilt their village. This is where young musician Vassilis Philippou claims to be from, although I suspect he was born in the Netherlands in 1991 and now lives back on the island. He performs his own compositions, but very much in the traditional Cypriot style, incorporating both Greek and Turkish elements, sung mostly in the Cyrpiot Greek dialect. Here is a live performance of part of his 2021 debut album Sol Aurorae - Ο Ήλιος της Αυκής:
Next we are heading to the divided capital of Cyprus, Nicosia. Eastern Mediterranean Psychedelia band Buzz' Ayaz are 4 musicians from both sides of the divide headed by Antonis Antoniou. They draw from the traditions of both sides with a fuzzed-out urban soundscape, dubby electronics, 70's psych organ and amplified folk organs to ritual beats of Greek and Anatolian melodicism. Here is a song from their 2024 self-titled debut album called Efdji:
Avant folk band Monsieur Doumani is also headed by Antonis Antoniou and was founded in 2011 in Nicosia. They fuse traditional Cypriot folk songs with contemporary elements and other world influences creating their own unique style singing about contemporary issues. In 2019 they were awarded the best group award by Songlines Magazine and they regularly tour internationally. Here is a song from their 2021 album Pissourin called Alavrostishiótis:
Another project by Antonis Antoniou is post-Rembetiko band Trio Tekke, who were actually started in London. They take the traditional Greek genre of Rembetiko (alternative spellings are available) to a new modern level, dragging it into the 21st century. Here is the title song of their 2021 album Strovilos (Whirlwind):
That's it from Cyprus for now, next we are hopping over to the Greek islands, although in real life there don't seem to be any direct ferry options from Cyprus, but hey, this is just a virtual trip after all. In the meantime you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline Map.
As we re-enter Türkiye, we also enter the geo-cultural region of Kurdistan. There are no strictly defined borders to Kurdistan, but the ethnic group of Kurds are spread around south-eastern Türkiye, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and northern Syria. They have their own music, culture and language and have for decades fought an on-going conflict to gain independence and/or greater autonomy within current national borders. The PKK on the Turkish side has just announced a ceasefire as I write this.
First stop is a quick flying visit to Kars, where Metin Demiral of the band Café
Türk spent part of his childhood. We have met him previously in Switzerland, where his band was based, and you can check it out here.
Moving on to the village of Kiğı, where singer and tembur player Ali Doğan Gönültaş was born in the mid-1980's to a Kurdish family. He showed early musical promise, and the family soon moved to Istanbul, where young Ali went on to study Archaeology and Cinema. He joined various ensembles playing Kurdish music, before going solo and has toured internationally to great acclaim. Here is a song from his 2022 album dedicated to his home town Kiğı called Entercîme:
Kurdish singer and musician Aynur Doğan was born in the small mountain town of Çemişgezek in 1975. In 1992 she fled the conflict zone to Istanbul, where she faced bans for 'promoting division', discrimination and abuse for singing in Kurdish and even threats from right-wing and anti-Kurdish militia, which in turn led her to emigrate to the Netherlands. Her stunning vocal style infuses traditional Kurdish folk with contemporary western influences and jazz. She has become a vocal representative for the Kurdish people. Here is a song from her 2024 album Rabe (Stand up or rise up) called Rabe Edlayê:
Wikipedia seems to be very confused about the birth place of singer and actress Bülent Ersoy. It agrees with itself that she was born in 1952, but according to the English version she was either born in Siirt or Malatya, both in eastern Anatolia, but over 400km apart, and according to the Turkish version she was born in Istanbul. We'll stick to Malatya, as it's the first place that comes up when you google her. What is also not in question is that she was born and started performing as a man. In 1981 she underwent gender alignment surgery in London, which got her banned under the military government at the time, who were trying to crack down on 'social deviance'. Nowadays she is one of the most popular singers in Türkiye, known as Diva by her fans' singing in the Turkish Classical and Arabesque style. Here is one of her biggest hits called Ümit Hırsızı (Hope Thief):
Kurdish wedding musician Tufan Derince was born in Diyarbakir in 1987. Now based in Rotterdam he plays an electrified baglama and performs at weddings around Europe and Turkey and has even appeared at an NPR Tiny Desk concert. If you are not familiar with Kurdish wedding music, it's a bit like Jimi Hendrix on steroids and reincarnated in Kurdistan. It's quite mind-blowing! I can't find any music recorded by him, but take in this short NPR concert and watch them bouncing up and down the sofa:
Also born in Diyarbakir in 1952 is Sufi musician Kudsi
Ergüner for something a lot calmer. He is considered a master of Mevlevi Sufi music, the branch of Sufism that was founded in Eastern Anatolia by the followers of the Persian poet Rumi. Ergüner is one of the best players of the Turkish Ney flute. He produced a huge volume of recorded music and has collaborated with many different artists worldwide, including Peter Gabriel. Here is a sample of his music and a fascinating snippet of how he chooses a reed to make his flute:
Just a hop and a skip away is the village of Urfa, where oud player Mehmet Polat was born in 1981. Trained in Anatolian folk and Ottoman classical music, he has developed his own technique for a more contemporary sound incorporating his instrument in jazz ensembles. He is now based in the Netherlands. Here is the title track from his 2023 album Embodied Poetry:
Kurdish singer/songwriter Olcay Bayir was born in Gaziantep near the Syrian border, but she won't reveal her age. As a teenager she moved to London with her family, where she went on to study operatic singing. She soon realised she preferred to give voice to the traditional music of her homeland. She very much gives a contemporary twist to the music of the wider Anatolian region, singing in multiple languages, including Kurdish, Turkish, Armenian and Greek. Her 2014 debut album Neva / Harmony was met with great critical acclaim. Here is a song from that album called Melamet Hirkasi:
Finally we hit the Mediterranean coast once again in the city of Adana, where multi-instrumentalist and composer Omar Faruk Tekbilek was born in 1951. He was an early musical protégé when he started working at his uncle's music store in exchange for music lessons. He began with playing the kaval, a small diatonic flute, moved on to the Ney flute, the zurna, an oboe-like double reed instrument and finally the baglama and the oud. At the age of 12 he turned professional and at the age of 16 he moved to Istanbul with his brother, where they became sought after session musicians. In the 1970's he began touring internationally and on a tour of the USA he met his future wife and stayed there in 1976.
His influences initially were very much the folk music of Anatolia, but after discovering Sufism and after an encounter with electronic musician Brian Keane he really found his own style combining Sufi music and Anatolian instruments with contemporary electronic ambient sounds, for which he is known to this day. Here's a track from his 2016 album Love Is My Religion called Barefoot Dervish:
That concludes our virtual tour of Türkiye, next we are slowly making our way west again, beginning with a quick hop over to Cyprus. In the meantime, as usual, you follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.
