City Sounds: Istanbul

Musical Inheritance

Istanbul’s position in the world’s geography is unique: it is the crossroads of the East and West. The city sits on two continents - Europe and Asia, and the dividing line is the Bosphorus, a wide strait that also connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea from north to south. Turkey’s native music, with its origins in Central Asia, was originally monophonic, but over centuries of assimilating musical instruments and influences from elsewhere, the results are as rich and colorful as a Turkish kilim. The present-day 24/7 vibrant musical life of Istanbul is an enormous polyglot kaleidoscope of East and West.

But lest anyone should think the former Constantinople is still the musty Old World, check out Bon Mod’s music-video love letter to modern ‘Stanbul’, Their Turkish lyrics mean: “It’s a city of millions...I feel like crying when I see the Bosphorus...I live with you, ‘Stanbul. I’m married to you, for better or for worse.”

Bon Mod - Stanbul

Nightlife scene in 2011

Folk, rock, DJ, hip-hop, trip-hop, electro, avant-garde, disco, garage band, fusion, jazz, classical, world, gypsy, sufi, contemporary, arabesque, alaturka, türkü, and Turkish classical music of the Ottoman period (circa 1730), await the music-hungry. In Istanbul alone, there are at least 146 record producers and distributors, according to Mü-Yap, a recording industry collective society based there. Those 146 report sales figures of close to 30 million total units (physical and digital) in a country of almost 77 million people.

For live music, the Beyoğlu area of the city boasts the largest number of clubs. Every night, walking down the long Istiklal Caddesi surrounds you with an overlapping melange of music produced both on the street and inside. Babylon and Ghetto are two clubs in this area that are devoted to presenting the best in all categories. Other fabled folk venues include Araf, which hosts gypsy clarinetist Selim Sesler every Tuesday; and Badehane Bar, which has a gypsy band every Wednesday. In the huge warren of interconnected side streets off Istiklal, on every block there are between five and ten clubs and bars with live music.

Global Heros

In the world music genre, global superstars either from or based in Istanbul, like Mercan Dede (Sufi fusion composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer), Jean-Pierre Smadj (producer, oudist), Nedim Nalbantoğlu (gypsy/jazz violinist), Burhan Öçal (percussionist), and Niyaz (world/Persian) frequently headline at home when they’re not touring.

Mercan Dede - Istanbul

Local Heros

Master world musicians like Hüsnü Senlendirici (clarinet), Aytac Doğan (kanun), Ismail Tunçbilek (bağlama), Orhan Osman (buzuki), Derya Türkan (kemençe), Erkan Oğur (fretless guitar), Misirli Ahmet (darbuka), and Muammer Ketencoğlu (accordion), are revered soloists in Turkey, as are the bands Kardeş Türküler, Gevende (world fusion), Kolektif Istanbul (Balkan), and Kırıka (avant-folk).

While those groups take traditional sounds and instruments and stretch things a bit by adding synth, improvisation, or background vocals, solo singers in Turkey tend to incorporate Western pop styles and studio arrangements, but preserve a specific kind of vocalism that reaches deep into the past. Local vocalists Şevval Sam (pop), Aynur Doğan (Kurdish), and Göksel (retro pop), singer-songwriters Yasemin Mori and Melis Danisment, and established divas Candan Erçetin, Sezen Aksu, and Tarkan populate the airwaves and touring venues. Sertap Erener’s latest album Rengarenk (‘Multicolored’) album reaches over the country’s borders with a fashion industry approach.

Local bands

Home-grown bands spring up like mushrooms in the rainy season. Singing in both Turkish and English, they generally beam a broad sense of their own Turkishness, a sexy commodity that should be bottled and sold. Baba Zula has the most impressive longevity, still going strong since 1996. Their combination of oriental and western instruments, psychedelic rock, belly dancing, and hilarious stage antics have earned them a huge following – Turkey’s own Grateful Dead!

Baba Zula - Komsunuzu Nasil Alirdiniz?

Turkish rap group Ceza was featured in Fatih Akın’s 2007 documentary film Crossing The Bridge which was devoted to Istanbul’s music scene at the time. Since then, the Anatolian rock groups Duman and the Replikas have been the leaders in the genre, with Redd up & coming. Soaked’s art-school synth-pop alternative is not only original music that breaks out of anything remotely Turkish-sounding, but has a vivid visual life that incorporates the band leader’s own abstract paintings.

Crossing The Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul - trailer

Herkes Kırmızı (“Everything’s Red”), whose track ‘Osman’ stayed on the top ten radio charts for months and won the Jack Daniel’s Award in the rock music competition, filmed their video at a country wedding. The words mean “Here comes Osman, he never stops singing and playing.” The song epitomizes the rock synthesis of East and West, and has several subconscious historical connections. “Osman” is Turkish for “Ottoman.” Red is the color of the Turkish flag. Their folk-inflected rhythms and harmonies are quintessentially Turkish, but in a modern realization.

Alexandra Ivanoff

Turkish festival newsflash! Combine your trip to Istanbul with Sunsplash Antalya – the boutique music festival on the beach (22-29 May 2011).

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