Özlem Taner
Özlem Taner is a singer steeped in the folk song of Turkey, in particular the traditions of her native Gaziantep. This CD, which has been some years in the making, is her first.
These twelve pieces are all either traditional or composed by traditional artists such as Muhlis Akarsu and Asik Mahzuni. This led me to expect a rather homogenous production but in fact this is the most diverse of CDs, as if Taner had set herself the challenge of devising the most imaginative and unexpected interpretations of the material. The opening a cappella section of Seher Inende and the saz-accompanied final piece, Sunam, demonstrate Taner’s türkü credentials and bookend the CD, but I suspect it is those arrangements that most defy expectation that will guarantee the CD’s success. I was especially impressed by the electric guitar of Sunay Özgur, who eschews the jazzy twiddlyness of much Turkish guitar work to display instead a grounding in the best rock traditions of elegant harmonic simplicity. Bu Mezarda Bir Garip Var is transformed by this into a gentle rock ballad, while Ezo Gelin has Evanescence-like moments. Like rock, Turkish folk music is people’s music in every sense and it is absolutely fitting to find elements of heavy rock, rock ‘n’ roll and country in this context. Exceptions like Paula Darwish and her Country And Eastern project aside, it is only snobbery that has prevented more experimentation in this direction.
There are some inevitable points of comparison with Aynur in one or two of the arrangements but any suspicions that Taner is being promoted as a Turkmen version of the Kurdish Aynur can be laid to rest – Taner’s singing and approach to music are very different and these two artists are not in competition.
Taner has an emotional delivery whose strength is in total confidence and control within a relatively narrow range, and this and the selection of material are the unifying factors here. Her aim has been to discover new and universal resonance in Turkish traditional song whilst affirming its identity as folk music and in this she has succeeded.
www.kalan.com
Chris Williams
http://www.frootsmag.com
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