Danish Dari German Spanish French Turkish Arabic
Click here to go to start page Click here to go to start page
Search Sort content by country/region Sort content by artist Sort content by subject
News stories world-wide
About music censorship
Artists on censorship
About Freemuse
Publications
Study room
Articles
Speeches
Radio programmes
Music albums
Books
Films
Freemusepedia
Activities
Links
Press room

ARTICLE
03 April 2006

Turkey:
New sound of Kurdish music after ban was lifted

It was only four years ago that the last remaining bans were lifted that had held back Kurdish music. But since then a lot has happened. Aynur Dogan, once banned because of her Kurdish ethnicity, is perhaps the most recognizable of many Kurdish singers who are creating a new sound in Turkey

By Daniel Bax

In recent years the albums ‘Seyir’ and ‘Kece Kurdan’ have earned the mesmerizing female vocalist Aynur Dogan a reputation that extends beyond Kurdish circles and has even commanded international admiration. The British magazine "Folk Roots" put her on their cover in 2004, and the London Times used her photograph to illustrate a supplement on the musical gems of Turkey.

This is somewhat ironic, given that not long ago Kurdish music was strictly forbidden in Turkey. Any Kurd who aspired to a career in music sang in Turkish and steered clear of politics. Those who did sing in Kurdish typically went into exile in Western Europe and produced cassettes that only passed secretly from hand to hand in Turkey.

It was only four years ago that the last remaining bans were lifted that had held back Kurdish music. But since then a lot has happened. Modern Kurdish songwriters such as Aynur, Nilüfer Akbal or Rojin, who have even made their way into radio and television, are only the most visible signs of the progress.

Along the way, all three of them have broken out of the prescribed roles: They cannot be classified as purely ethnic folk musicians, nor do they try to make a political statement with their music, which had long been the prerogative of Kurdish music.

Following Western traditions

Aynur Dogan and her sisters understand themselves as modern singers and songwriters following a Western tradition. They do sometimes turn back to old traditional Anatolian wanderers' songs. But they also open Kurdish music up to new influences, to European and international sounds.

Aynur Dogan is the musician who has remained closest to Kurdish traditions. Yet she has refined the somewhat outdated repertoire and her own compositions with a seasoned world music aesthetic, by implementing a wide spectrum of acoustic folk instruments.

Bass and percussion lend the spare and elegiac ballads a hint of jazz. The heavy blues from the Kurdish mountains thus take on a certain cosmopolitan flair when she performs them.

Aynur Dogan’s background

Aynur Dogan was born in the south-east corner of the country in the Kurdish-influenced region of Tunceli, where she grew up with the traditional music, the myths and the poetry of the Alevites – a religious minority which is still very present in everyday life there.

In the wake of the civil war which escalated in the 1990’s, whole villages were forced to move to the western side of Turkey. In 1992 Aynur's family also moved, to Istanbul, where she then attended the music school of Arif Sag who is known as the guru of saz, the traditional Turkish instrument.

Aynur Dogan is featured in Fatih Akin's documentary film 'Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul' where her appearance is said to be "the emotional heart of the film".

This article is an excerpt of an article published by Qantara.de and is republished with permission from the author.


Click to go to Qantara.de
Aynur Dogan

Source:

Qantara.de – 10 March 2006:
'Kurdish Music: Blues from the Mountains'

Go to top
Related reading:

Turkey: Ferhat Tunç sang at large rally for Alevi rights
Ferhat Tunç was one of the artists who performed in Istanbul on 8 November 2009 in front of 200,000 people protesting for the rights of a religious minority
09 November 2009
Turkey: Pop star both condemned and praised for political statement
A statement in favour of a new plan on how the Turkish government should approach the Kurdish issue turned fans of the popular Turkish pop diva Sezen Aksu up against her
14 September 2009
Ferhat Tunç
Video interview with singer and musician Ferhat Tunç from Turkey who speaks about his personal experiences with music censorship
19 August 2009
Turkey: Singer Ferhat Tunç in his seventh court case
Police brutality against the Kurdish-Turkish singer Ferhat Tunç lead to a court case - not against the police, but against the singer
14 July 2009
USA: Censored musicians spoke at Duke University
In its human rights series, Duke University in North Carolina, USA, presented two censored musicians and highlighted freedom of musical expression
25 March 2009
Human Rights for Musicians – Ferhat Tunç acquitted • Jens-Peter Bonde
Article by Jens-Peter Bonde who is president of EU Democrats and was Danish member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 2008
30 January 2009
Human Rights for Musicians – Impressions & Descriptions: Ferhat Tunç
Testimonial by Ferhat Tunc in the anniversary publication 'Human Rights for Musicians - Ten Years With Freemuse'
30 January 2009
Turkey: Singer Ferhat Tunç's trial postponed again
On 28 May 2008 Ferhat Tunç stood trial over an article he wrote. But once again, the trial was postponed
29 May 2008
Turkey / Germany: Panel debate about Turkish censorship
On 4 April 2008, protest singer Ferhat Tunç performed with his Kurdish songs and discussed music censorship in Berlin, Germany
08 April 2008
Turkey: Singer Ferhat Tunç's next trial postponed
A Turkish court decided to postpone the next trial of the Turkish-Kurdish singer with five months, until May 2008
17 December 2007