The Turkish Empress of music - Sezen Aksu

Sezen Aksu is not only the Queen of Turkish pop. To be more accurate, I ought to call her the mother of Turkish pop music. But she is not an ordinary mother, and she's had a child not just like any other: Sezen is unique both as an individual and a musician - simply put, there's no one else like her, and that's reflected in her music. Born to a couple of schoolteachers in 1954, Sezen was educated to be independent and strong from a very early age. As a teenager, she studied to become an agricultural engineer in Izmir, but left her career because she couldn't resist the call of music. Her first attempts at breaking the market were unsuccessful, but in 1977 she finally managed to achieve success. However, she didn't just become successful - she became a megastar overnight, and was given her Diva Nickname from the beginning: Minik Serçe (Little Sparrow - also one of her most beautiful songs). Since then, Sezen has been going from strength to strength, and is adored by almost everyone in Turkey - her concerts are always sold out, and her records sell by the truckload.

However, Sezen is as notorious for her music as she is for her social activism. In her songs she talks about ecological issues, the repression against the Armenian and Kurd minorities (in fact, in 1999 groups of nationalist Turks made her the object of scathing attacks in the media because she sang Kurdish and Armenian folk songs during a televised concert) and the terrible discrimination that many women still suffer in many parts of rural Turkey - all subjects that the authorities would rather keep hidden. Not only is this woman a WONDROUS artist, but she's also got a set of balls bigger than most men.



Her music is so unique because every single one of her compositions is a treasure in itself: a wonderful work of art that draws from both Turkish and Western classical music, plus the folk traditions of all the people from China to Spain, passing through Arabia, the Black, Aegean and Western Mediterranean seas, Russia and Central Europe... But all brought to contemporary times by blending it with rock, pop, techno, trance or even a very unique form of hip hop. And this is what's so special about Sezen's albums - it's like travelling in time and across half of the world, only without moving and being able to feel every single thing as present and modern, even familiar. And all this accompanied by Sezen's rich, silvery contralto and unbridled passion. What could be better?! If you want to purchase her records, go here.



It's been really difficult for me to make a selection of Sezen's music, especially because she has changed so much during her thirty years of career (yeah, she’s gone from a gorgeous young thing to a Pete Burns look-a-like… Sorry, but the catty bitch in me had to say it! :-D ). She started as a torch ballad singer, delved into Middle Eastern-influenced soft rock, then went through an era of synthesizer-crazy pop during the eighties, went back to purely traditional and classical music during the early nineties, and has steadily come closer and closer to dance music with her latest releases - but always remaining faithful to her classical and folk roots. Now, isn’t that FABULOUS? Enjoy!

Kalp Unutmaz/The Heart Doesn't Forget

This is one of my favourite songs by Sezen, from her awesome 2005 album Bahane (Excuse). It's a MONUMENTAL disco throw down kinda song, with a gorgeous violin introduction, a fast and insistent beat and a thunderous chorus that will have you shaking your body all over the place in no time! It's also very carefully made, with enormous attention being given to little details that embellish the song enormously and take it to the level of a true epic.

Deli Gönlüm/I'm Crazy Once Again

This is yet another one of Sezen's journeys into disco territory. However, this isn't as original as Kalp Unutmaz in the sense that it is more traditional Western disco music than anything else. Or maybe I'm being inexact: the melody has all the elements of a Turkish folk song, but it is cleverly twisted around to suit the 4/4 beat and the carefully disguised electronic effects. Beautiful.



Kapılıyız/Closed (Kıvanç K Mix)

This is Sezen in rapper mode! But honestly, this is not silly in any way: not at all! In fact, it’s one of her most intriguing songs. It has a very futuristic production that, for some reason, brings to mind a snowstorm… In spite of my crazy ramblings, this is a very cool track: both because it’s great, and because it evokes a cold, distant atmosphere. It’s amazingly good, though, and even though I personally detest hip hop, it does manage to elevate the genre above the rubbish that it is most of the time to create a sublime work of art. Oh, it's taken from the SPECTACULAR single Kardelen (Snowdrop), 2006. :-)

Su Gibi/Like Water

This achingly beautiful and delicate ballad comes (like Deli Gönlüm), from the album that made Sezen the darling of World Music fanatics, Şarkı Söylemek Lazim/The Songs Must Be Sung, from 2002. It begins with a faint electronic piano solo that mimics the sounds of dripping water, and gracefully flows into a melancholic, reposed ballad that suddenly rises into a melodramatic chorus highlighted by violins and a military-styled drum arch. It's gorgeous, and it honours its name.