Poplar Trees: Sabahat Akkiraz feat. Erkan Oğur and "Kavaklar"

Sabahat Akkiraz brings us today's random tune, called Kavaklar. A Turkish folk music singer, was raised in Germany before returning to Turkey where she released her first professional album in 1983. She is not only well known for her contributions to Turkish folk music, but also as a politician and a member of the Turkish parliament where she represented Istanbul from 2011 - 2015. She resigned her position following the Soma mining disaster in Turkey and in protest of the ruling Justice and Development Party's response to a call to investigate the mine's safety record. She said at the time that being in parliament did not give her the ability to change the direction of the country. She is joined on Kavaklar by Erkan Oğur, a Turkish guitarist known for his invention of the fretless classical guitar, and his combination of Turkish classical and Turkish folk music with ancient traditional music. You can find Kavaklar on the 2006 various artists collection Homegrown Istanbul, Vol. 1.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabahat_Akkiraz; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erkan_O%C4%9Fur

Collaborations: Zerina Cokoja and Mercan Dede with "Moj Dilbere Kud Se Seces"

Today's random song is by Zerina Cokoja and features Mercan Dede. I couldn't get much about Zerina Cokoja except that she was a model and singer in the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia Herzogovina. She moved to Germany during the Yugoslavian civil war but did not achieve much success with her music despite the Bosnian diaspora that was also settling there. However, after the war her music saw a resurgence and she has been performing traditional music. She collaborates on this tune with Mercan Dede, also known as DJ Arkin Allen, a composer, player of the ney (a Turkish flute) and the bendir (a hand drum). He fuses traditional Turkish acoustic music and other eastern styles with electronic sounds, horns, dance beats and his Sufi spirituality. This song, Moj Dilbere Kud Se Seces, can be found on the various artists compilation Homegrown Istanbul, Volume 1 (2006).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Dance Party: Burhan Öçal & The Trakya All Stars with "Opaz"

Today's random tune is by Burhan Öçal & The Trakya All Stars and is called Opaz. A Turkish percussionist, Öçal started his music career at a young age, learning percussion from his father and vocal music from his mother. At the age of 24 he moved to Switzerland to continue his musical studies. He works in a variety of styles, including Turkish classical, western classical, Ottoman court music and Turkish pop. Besides playing the darbuka, he has also picked up a variety of other instruments during his career, including divan-saz, tambour and oud. He has worked with groups as varied as the Kronos Quartet, jazz bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. He is also an actor, playing lead in several films and some television dramas. You can find Opaz on his 2006 album Trakya Dance Party, on the 2016 Burhan Öçal Box Set, and on the 2006 various artists compilation Homegrown İstanbul, Vol. 1. He is joined on the tune by Smadj, a Tunisian born, Parisian musician who takes inspiration from Asian, Brazilian, funk, soul and folk music.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Family Matriarch: Ilkay Akkaya and "Nana"

Today's random song is by Ilkay Akkaya, a Turkish singer and the lead singer for the Turkish group Kizilirmak. The only information I can get on her is in a bad translation from Turkish on Google, so I won't try so I don't risk getting the information wrong. She is accompanied on this song, Nana, by Kazim Koyuncu, a Laz singer-songwriter and activist from Turkey who died in 2005 of lung cancer thought to have been caused by the Chernobyl disaster. Nana can be found on the compilation album Homegrown Istanbul, Vol. 1 (2006).

Raise a Goblet: Misirli Ahmet and "Meçhul"

Today's random song, Meçhul, is by Turkish darbuka virtuoso Misirli Ahmet. Ahmet's music is influenced by Indian, Latin American and Arabic music, as well as jazz. First self-taught, he refined his playing style in France and Egypt where he developed a unique split-fingered technique that allowed him to play at very quick tempos. He has worked with many musicians from around the world. Meçhul can be found on the compilation album Homegrown Istanbul, Vol. 1 (2006).