Day and Night: Deniz Cuylan and "Jour et Nuit"

Turkish film score composer Deniz Cuylan, now living in Los Angeles, brings us the random tune for today, called Jour et Nuit. Cuylan broke through with the electronica band Portecho, and has worked with other acts such as Norrda and Maya. He has also formed bands with fellow musician friends in Istanbul and Los Angeles. Currently, under the name Bright and Guilty, he creates and produces film soundtracks with Brian Bender. Jour et Nuit can be found on the various artists compilation Istanbul Calling, Vol. 2 (2008).

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.

Source: https://www.redbullradio.com/shows/meze/episodes/deniz-cuylan

Nobody's Perfect: Orhan Gencebay and "Hatasız Kul Olmaz"

Turkish artist Orhan Gencebay bring us the random tune for today, called Hatasız Kul Olmaz. A virtuoso of the bağlama, he is also a singer, composer, arranger, music producer, director and actor. He learned music at a young age, taking violin and mandolin lessons at the age of 6 but at 7 he started learning the bağlama, a stringed musical instrument, and created his first composition at age 10. He also studied the tambur to better learn Turkish classical music. During his teen years, he developed an interest in jazz and rock. His professional start came in radio and television where he was resident bağlama player for the Turkish Radio and Television Network (TRT). In the late 1960s, he began collaborations with a large number of Turkish musicians spanning a wide range of styles and genres, and he also served as music director for many Turkish films. He also helped develop a new genre of Turkish music that fused classical Turkish folk music with western styles and European styles. His releases in this style are often called arabesque, but he has rejected that label as too narrow for his style of music. He is also a prolific actor, having appeared in over 30 films, as well as a composer of over 1000 songs, and he has released 32 solo albums. You can find Hatasız Kul Olmaz on his 1976 album of the same name, and on the various artists compilation and soundtrack to the documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2006). I believe the video is an excerpt from that film.

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.

Psyching Out Turkey: Baba Zula and "Tavus Havası"

Baba Zula brings us today's random tune called Tavus Havası. Founded in 1996, Baba Zula is a Turkish alternative group that creates a psychedelic sound combining traditional Turkish instruments, electronica, reggae and dub. At the core of their sound is the saz, a Turkish bouzouki-like stringed instrument with a bright, high-pitched sound. Baba Zula became well known outside of Turkey when they appeared in the 2005 documentary Crossing the Bridge, and have since performed in many high profile world music festivals. They have released eight albums. Tavus Havası can be found on the soundtrack to Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (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.

The Mountain: Replikas and "Şahar Dağı"

Today's random song is by Replikas, an experimental/psychedelic rock band from Istanbul. Featuring Gökçe Akçelik on guitar and vocals, Barkın Engin on guitar, Selçuk Artut on bass, Orçun Baştürk on drums and Burak Tamer on electronics, the band has released seven studio albums, one boxed set and one live performance album, as well as being featured on many compilations. The band has also made music for film as well as appearing in the documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. This song, Şahar Dağı, can be found on the soundtrack to Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (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.

Funereal: Aynur Doğan and "Ehmedo"

Today's random tune is something that we've seen described as a Kurdish dirge. Ehmedo is performed by Aynur Doğan, a contemporary Kurdish singer and musician from Turkey. She has released six albums and was featured in the documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. The version of this song that we have comes from the soundtrack to the documentary (Crossing the Bridge, 2006), though this video is a version I hadn't heard before.

Must be Comfy: Flue and "Velvet Pant"

The random tune for today is by a group called Flue, of which I cannot find any information. So, you get to sit back and enjoy today's song, called Velvet Pant. You can find it on the 2007 album Istanbul Calling, Vol. 2 (Ethnic Electronic).

Backrub: Nilgül and "Pış Pışla"

The random tune for today, Pış Pışla, is by Turkish singer Nilgül Badakal, who goes by the stage name of Nilgül. She began her music career in Istanbul in 1998 after attending college in Izmir, Turkey. The Wikipedia translation is difficult to follow, so we cannot find much more information on her. She has released five solo albums. Pış Pışla can be found on her 2005 album Pervane, and on the compilation Putumayo Presents: Turkish Groove (2006).

At the Gateway to the East: Fatima Spar and the Freedom Fries with "Istanbul"

Fatima Spar and the Freedom Fries provides our random tune for today, called Istanbul. Fatima Spar is an Austrian/Turkish jazz musician who started singing jazz at age 13 but broke it off for a while to study music and theater and then fashion design in Vienna. She left her studies to resume her music career in 2004 and formed Fatima Spar and the Freedom Fries - they promptly won the Austrian World Music Awards. Spar sings in Turkish, English and German and the band's style consists of swing, Balkan brass, calypso and eastern music. She and her band also became the first band from Austria to appear on the official Womex schedule. You can find Istanbul on their 2006 album Zirzop.

The Day Is Now: Ebru Gündeş and "Bir Gün Olacak"

Today's random tune takes the flavor of Turkish pop. Born in Istanbul, Ebru Gündeş was forced to discontinue school after her primary years because of financial difficulties. Luckily, her voice was discovered when one of her relatives took her to be heard by a record label executive, who was impressed and introduced her to music producers. Gündeş sings tragic arabesque songs which lie at the core of Turkish pop. She is not only popular in Turkey, but also in Azerbaijan. She is also highly regarded in Iran due to the large Turkic minority there and has been called one of Iran's favorite singers. Most of her albums have been highly successful. Not only has she appeared on television as a singer, she is now an actress in a Turkish comedy series and was host of the hugely popular Mega Show, which was your standard variety show. She also was a guest judge on Popstar Alaturka, a talent show along the lines of American Idol or The Voice. Her career has been somewhat hampered by health issue - she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1999 entailing two operations - but she is back in full health. This song, Bir Gün Olacak, can be found on her 2011 album Beyaz.

Turkish Rock Never Sounded So Grungy: Duman and "Istanbul"

How about a minute and a half hard rock song from Turkey for the random tune of the day? Istanbul is by Duman, a Turkish rock band founded in 1999 and known for combining Turkish folk songs with modern Turkish rock and grunge. They have released 10 albums. Istanbul can be found on the 2006 soundtrack to the documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul.

Gettin' Hitched: The Wedding Sound System and "Wedding Song"

Off to Turkey for today's random song. I don't know much about this band nor this song. The context that might explain it is the movie that it's in - Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. But I haven't seen that movie either. It has a cool soundtrack which was released in 2006, and this song, Wedding Song by The Wedding Sound System, is on it.

I Know: Zi Punt and "Who Knows"

Who Knows, by Zi Punt, is our random tune for today. Zi Punt is a Turkish group made up of Oguz Kaplangi, Chi K. and Orange who mash up electro and rock. Oguz Kaplangi produces Zi Punt as well as other groups and gives concerts in Turkey and abroad. Chi K is originally from Turkey but she spent five years in New York City singing at Bard College. Orange is the stage name of Istanbul-based, New Zealand born musician and video artist Reuben de Lautour. He studied music at Princeton and DJ'd in New York and New Jersey before moving to Istanbul. He is on the faculty of the Istanbul Technical University. Who Knows can be found on the 2007 compilation Istanbul Calling Vol. 2.

Romani Around: Cüneyt Sepetçi and Orchestra Dolapdere with "Gogocular"

I accidentally published tomorrow's song today. So here's the correction. We go to Turkey today for our random tune of the day. Cüneyt Sepetçi and Orchestra Dolapdere hail from the Dolapdere neighborhood near the center of Istanbul, a neighborhood populated mostly by Roma families and full of musicians who provide music for weddings, circumcisions, parades and parties. Sepetçi is a clarinet virtuoso and he and his orchestra provide a modern take on Turkish Roma classics, as well as songs from Albania, Macedonia, Spain and other areas. Albuquerque's own A Hawk and a Hacksaw met Sepetçi in 2012, and got him into a studio to cut his first album. This song, Gogoucular, is from the 2013 CD Bahriye Çiftetellisi.

Pop Legend: Sezen Aksu and "İstanbul Hatırası"

The random song of the day is from a Turkish legend. Sezen Aksu is a pop singer who has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. She has been a tremendous influence on Turkish pop and on world music in general. She has also been a patron and collaborator of many other famous Turkish musicians, and has also collaborated with Tarkan and Goran Bregović, which further broadened her worldwide appeal. Aksu is largely credited, along with her close friend Ajda Pekkan, with laying the groundwork for Turkish pop in the 1970s, as well as spreading the popularity of Turkish music across Greece and the Balkans. She has also been an outspoken champion of rights and reforms in Turkey. She is considered a gay icon by the Turkish LGBT community and often has a rainbow flag onstage during her performances. This song, İstanbul Hatırası, can be found on the soundtrack to the film Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. The video is from the movie.

It Must be Beautiful: Mehmet Cemal Yeşilçay and "Morning In Ortaköy"

Today's random tune has a Turkish smooth jazz feel. Morning In Ortaköy is performed by Mehmet Cemal Yeşilçay. Yeşilçay is a Turkish oud player and composer who was a co-founder, along with psaltery player Mehmet İhsan Özer, of the Pera Ensemble of Istanbul. He has performed more than 200 concerts worldwide. The name Ortaköy refers to a neighborhood in Istanbul on the European side of the city known for its cosmopolitan flavor. Morning In Ortaköy can be found on the 2010 compilation album Pera Lounge.

Psyching You Out, Turkish Style: Replikas and "Şahar Dağı"

Just as Turkey is a crossroads between West and East, it is also a crossroads of musical styles. You can find music inspired from east of Turkey such as Persia/Iran and farther, or music from the south in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, to music inspired by the Balkans and the Romani populations there. The genres cover ancient to modern, classical to pop. It's a melange of music worthy of a country that has seen a plethora of cultures pass through it, each putting their indelible stamp on Turkish culture and society. In particular, Istanbul, which literally straddles the East-West divide, is home to all kinds of artists, musical and otherwise.

Today's random song is by Replikas, an experimental/psychedelic rock band from Istanbul. Featuring Gökçe Akçelik on guitar and vocals, Barkın Engin on guitar, Selçuk Artut on bass, Orçun Baştürk on drums and Burak Tamer on electronics, the band has released seven studio albums, one boxed set and one live performance album, as well as being featured on many compilations. The band has also made music for film as well as appearing in the documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. This song, Şahar Dağı, can be found on the soundtrack to Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2006).

The Unknown Turkish Musician: Nur Ceylan and "Böyle Olur Mu"

For those of you who actually read this blog, I want you to know that posts are going to be short and sweet for the next week. I am currently traveling, and will be in Texas until next weekend. That means that you will notice a lack of my wit, wisdom, bon mots, humor and other sundry items that make this blog the powerhouse of the global music world. I will be back with all of that by December 1st, but never fear, I have posts scheduled to take you through this week, with all the wonderful randomness out of my world music library that you could hope for.

Today's random tune is by Nur Ceylan. Unfortunately, I can't find any real information on Nur Ceylan for you, other than that the individual is a Turkish musician. This song, Böyle Olur Mu, was one of the featured songs on the documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005), a film tapestry of the sounds of Turkish music in Istanbul. The film was narrated by German musician Alexander Hacke and songs were recorded using a portable recording studio. Böyle Olur Mu can be heard on the soundtrack to the documentary (2005).

Homage: Selim Sesler and "Kurdili Hicazkar Longa"

The random tune for today is also an homage to a man called by The Guardian "the Coltrane of the clarinet." Selim Sesler was a Turkish clarinetist of Romani descent. He originally learned how to play the zurna, a simple woodwind instrumentthat accompanies a drum in Turkish folk music, but later switched over to the clarinet. At 14 he began to play for weddings and other social gatherings, and only learned to read music when he was conscripted into the Turkish military. Moving to Istanbul in the 1980s, he played for social gatherings and in restaurants, improving his skills and joining up with other Romani musicians. After meeting him in an Istanbul nightclub after a performance, Brenna MacCrimmon offered to do an album with him. The resulting tour brought him international exposure in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, yet he was still relatively unknown in Turkey. His improvisations of Romani wedding and dance music gained him acknowledgment as the main interpreter of Romani music. Turkish audiences finally were introduced to him in two movies, Head On and the documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. Sesler died in May, 2014 waiting for a new heart after a long battle with coronary artery disease. This song, Kurdili Hicazkar Longa, is from the soundtrack to Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2006).

The Beauty Inside: Göksel and "Ayrilik Günü"

When I went to Turkey, about 3 years ago now, I was amazed to stand at a crossroads of civilization. Both in the past and the present, Turkey served as an intersection of cultures and histories. Istanbul in particular struck me as a major crossroads in Turkey, one that has served that capacity in history and geography for thousands of years. One of the interesting things to do in Turkey is to watch its people. Today, just as in the past, you see almost all aspects of Turkey reflected in its people, and especially in its women.

Walk along a city street in Istanbul, and notice especially the dress of its women. Whereas men pretty much dress the same - slacks and shirts or jeans and shirts - its women dress in all manner of ways. There are women dressed very much in western styles, such as dresses or pants and blouses, with long flowing hair. You can also see women dressed in what has become a form of moderate Islamic dress, modest with flashes of design and color, featuring less colorful clothes that do not flatter the figure and hair covered with scarves. It is in the scarves that the fashion comes out - brightly colored with patterns. The scarf serves to frame and accentuate the face but nothing more. You may also see women dressed in more conservative Islamic dress - all in black with face covered. What is interesting is to watch childhood friends - two women walking alongside each other laughing and talking, one in complete Western dress and the other in moderate Islamic dress.

I am reminded of this aspect of modern Turkey because of today's artist. Ayrilik Günü by Göksel is a pop tune about a farewell to a lover. It's lyrics are very poetic:

My love, I have a scar of a wound on my heart

My love, strangers begrudged at our love

You were an unfading flower in the spring of my heart

You were more real than everything in this false world

Farewell, today is farewell day

Farewell, today is farewell day

Today is farewell day, let our tears drop

Our real love has turned into the world of mortality

One can not love without being loved, a dead (arid) tree wouldn't bend

Heart is creation of Allah(God), heart can never be touched

(translation by pinar85 at AllTheLyrics.com)
However, Göksel herself has, in the past, written songs addressed specifically toward women. One song, Taş Bebek (Doll), she cowrote with Ferman Akgül, Alper Erinç and Turkish rock star Teoman. It addresses the suffering of women to always have to be beautiful, and encourages them to focus on the beauty inside and the things that they offer rather than always dolling themselves up for men. When I read that, it reminded me of all of those aspects of women that I saw in Turkey.

Born in Istanbul as Göksel Demirpençe, Göksel initially studied philosophy, but quit university to pursue a career in music. She was a backup singer to Sezen Aksu and Sertab Erener, both very famous female Turkish artists. She released her first solo album in 1997, and has since had nine album releases (one of which was a best-hits album allegedly released by her record company without her permission or participation). She has challenged some other barriers in that area of the world by performing with Greek group Omega Vibes at a concert in Babylon (Turkey and Greece have been historic enemies). You can find Ayrilik Günü on Göksel's 2003 release Söz Ver and on Putumayo Presents: Turkish Groove (2006).

Music at the Crossroads: Gülseren and "Sinanay"

A couple of years ago, I got a chance to visit Turkey. My wife was invited to be a part of a journalists' delegation and I got to tag along. It was an amazing trip for a number of reasons.

One thing we were looking forward to was getting music from Turkey to add to our collection and play on the Global Music Show.  We spent a good part of a day in total on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, one of the hip areas that has sprung up in that cosmopolitan city, in a music store sampling music and we bought quite a bit to bring home with us.

Turkey sits at the crossroads of human history and civilization.  It is the meeting point between East and West, and between North and South.  Istanbul itself straddles Europe and Asia, with parts of it on either side.  So it is no surprise that in a large country, once the seat of an empire that spanned at its height from the gates of Vienna all the way around the Mediterranean and into Spain, you can find all types of music.  From music influenced by Turkey's eastern neighbors to pop in the western mode and everything in between, Turkey has it.  You are surrounded by music in Turkey, whether you are walking during one of the five daily prayer times and the muezzin (or a recording of a muezzin) is singing out from the minarets at the mosques or sitting in a meyhane eating meze and drinking raki, you can't escape the music, and why would you want to?

Today's randomly chosen selection is by Gülseren, which is the stage name used by Turkish-born Gülseren Yıldırım Gomez.  Born in 1973 in Istanbul, she was raised in Turkey until age seven, when she moved Paris.  However, she never wanted to forget her heritage and made sure to keep herself immersed in it, first by going to a French university specializing in eastern cultures and also by teaching Parisian schoolchildren how to speak Turkish.  In 2005, she was chosen by contest vote to represent Turkey at the famous Eurovision song contest, where she made some waves by choosing a song that was more traditionally Turkish than modern and pop.  She finished 13th in the competition.  She has one album that I have been able to find called Turquie: Rondes, Comptines et Berceuses (Turkey: Songs, Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies) released in 2007.  This song, Sinanay, can be found on many compilation albums, including the one that I own, Putumayo Presents Turkish Groove.  A nice, upbeat pop song with some Spanish talk at the beginning from Gülseren's husband Luis Gomez, presents a scene on a ferry to Istanbul and the joy that comes with the breeze and the people on it as they head there.  It was written by Sezen Aksu, herself a Turkish pop singer, song-writer and producer who has sold over 40 million albums and who Gülseren describes as "one of the greatest Turkish singers."