Zaman
24 July 2008, Thursday
ZEREN ÇELEBİ İSTANBU
Although Kazakh musician Saadet Türköz occasionally took to the stage to sing songs at local festivals at the age of 29 or 30, if someone had told her that one day she would become a musician who binds continents together, she would not have believed it.
She chose for herself a free style of music and set out on her intercontinental journey, accompanied by two Tibetan drums. Türköz has given many concerts in many cities in many countries, including Turkey, East Turkistan and even China. Her first professional visit to Turkey was at the invitation of a Swiss curator when she gave her first concert in İstanbul at the Hagia Eirene Museum. In her second visit, she appeared at the Babylon Club, which was followed by several more gigs in various locations around Turkey. She conquered the hearts of Turkish jazz aficionados in important musical events such as the Akbank Jazz Festival and the Ankara International Jazz Festival. Born in 1961 in İstanbul, Türköz has been living in Switzerland since the age of 19. She was in Turkey again last week, but this time not for a concert. She came to visit her parents, who live in Turkey. Availing itself of this opportunity, Today's Zaman interviewed Türköz.
Your musical career started quite late, after the age of 29 or 30. How did this happen?
Out of impulse, I decided to take to the stage in a local festival in Zurich. I played two small Tibetan drums while singing Turkish and Kazakh songs that I could remember. I had two spontaneous pieces as well. Then opportunities started to present themselves. Actually, I thought that one cannot become a musician without attending a conservatory. I studied journalism in Switzerland.
When I was young, I liked to write poems and I was very much attracted to listening to music. I loved listening to classical music compositions aired on the radio when I was a child. I attended a Quran training course at the ages of 13, 14 and 15 over the summer vacation like every other kid. I liked attending this course very much. You know, we learned how to recite the Quran without understanding its meaning. Nevertheless, I loved it. As the imam recited verses and prayers, I perceived them in a melodic and meditative manner. This had a big influence on me.
In addition, our own Kazakh society, too, was very influential on me. Kazakhs have been living in communities since their arrival in Turkey in 1953. They continue to observe their own customs and traditions. When I was a kid, I went to weddings and we sang songs as a group. The mother whose daughter was getting married would sing elegies for their sorrow. When someone died, the people would sing elegies. These were actually spontaneous poetic songs specific to that moment. The old people who had migrated from East Turkistan would sing plain old songs when they came together.
And then you released your first album, "Karatoprak" (Black Soil), in which you described İstanbul. How was this album received?
"Karatoprak" was my first CD. It was released in 1994 in Lausanne, Switzerland. In "Karatoprak," I only used my voice. This album consists of Turkish and Kazakh songs I remembered from my childhood and my improvisations. Vocal albums are not very common in Eastern countries, but it has a special following in Europe. The reactions I received were very satisfactory. Yet, being a musician in Switzerland is very different from being one in Turkey. In Switzerland, people pay respect to musicians, they never disturb them. The popular interest in a musician does not go beyond buying his/her album, going to his/her concerts and smiling at him/her if they run into you on the street. For this reason, many world-renowned musicians prefer to live there. Even Tina Turner lives in Switzerland for this reason. Everyone in Switzerland sees music and musicians as perfectly natural. There is no social status which glorifies one while denigrating the other. Everyone is equal and is trying to do their duty in the best way. Exemptions are naturally expected.
Perhaps Burhan Öçal's self-confidence can be attributed to this environment. He accompanied you on the ud in your album "Marmara Sea." How did you get together?
Between 1990 and 2000 I worked on my album "Marmara Sea." I met Burhan Öçal in Switzerland. I invited him to work with me for this album. He accepted my invitation and we started working together. I invited a contrabassist, Joelle Leandre, from France. Martin Shütz is a Swiss cellist. Another is guitarist Elliot Sharp from New York. As I was born in İstanbul, I wanted to dedicate it to İstanbul. So I named it "Marmara Sea." In this album, we gave much room to Turkish classical and folk music pieces. I sang them as I remembered them, and the musicians accompanying me played as they wished.
All of your work produces many reverberations internationally. Is this your individual achievement or is there someone who supports you?
I have not been to every part of the world, and my life would not be sufficiently long to do this. Yet mine is an intercontinental journey. I have been to the US, given concerts in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego and many other places. I have been to Mexico City and to Florida. I frequently go to Canada, Brazil, Africa, Japan, China, my home country of East Turkistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and many other countries. I can perfectly assure you that this is all due to my own efforts. Financially, the Swiss art funds support me as a musician. Moreover, I worked with Intakt Records on my latest CDs.
How did you manage to enter China amid the ongoing crisis?
They sent me an invitation to hold a workshop there.
In "Urumçi," your 2006 album, we see that your ethnic background is much more dominant than in your previous albums. What does "Urumçi" mean to you?
You know, Urumchi is the capital of East Turkistan. I dedicated this album to the Turks persecuted by China there as well as to my Kazakh roots. This dedication is placed inside the album cover. I made this album for my parents and for everyone. We completed it in two years. Part of the recording was done in Kazakhstan. Songs and improvisations are in the Kazakh language. Actually, my improvisations are always in my mother tongue. In Kazakhstan, I found musicians to work with from conservatories and my contacts there. I went there in 2005 once again, and we started the studio work. We used the main instruments of Kazakh music: the dombra, the kopuz and the Kazakh flute.
An East Turkistan climate is dominant in your improvisations, CDs and concerts. Is this something you owe to your homeland as an artist's responsibility?
Culture and art are my priorities, but since I get the essence of my art from my homeland, I feel obligated to depict East Turkistan in my work. In my point of view art is actually a proper platform to defend human rights. I always keep the East Turkistan issue on the agenda in all my interviews and in programs I am invited to. Actually East Turkistan has to be mentioned even more frequently so that people learn. The people have no idea about the current situation in East Turkistan. Turkish artists have a huge responsibility here. The tiny country of Tibet is known by everyone today because Hollywood has constantly been bringing it up. The Turkish cinema sector and musicians alike should be supportive of East Turkistan.
