ISTANBUL ARABESQUE PROJECT

Istanbul Arabesque Project’in üyeleri pek çok rock grubunda çaldi. Ama altyapilarinda hep arabesk vardi. Çünkü bu müzikle büyümüslerdi. Bunu bir yildir verdikleri 200 konserle disa vurup, gerçek benliklerini gösterdiler. Simdi de ‘Her Gün Isyanim Var’ albümüyle bu durumu pekistiriyorlar. Üstelik tam da arabeskin tartisildigi dönemde. Kendilerine güvenleri tam, “Eger arabesk yavsakliksa, klasik müzik soylularin himayesinde kalmis, halka tepeden bakan bir müziktir mi, diyelim” diyorlar

Istanbul Arabesque Project, davulda Barbaros Akbulut (40), bas gitarda Özer Kirçak (30), elektrik gitarda Korkut Peker (31), vokalde Pinar Seda Günday’dan (33) olusuyor. Grupta sadece vokalist, ITÜ Türk Musikisi Devlet Konservatuari Çalgi Egitim mezunu. Bingöllü Barbaros Akbulut Inönü elektrik bölümü, Ayvalikli Korkut Peker halkla iliskiler, Samsunlu Özer Kirçak ise iktisat mezunu. Her biri usta-çirak iliskisiyle müzikte bir yerlere gelmis. Simdiye kadar farkli türde müzikler yapan gruplarda çalsalar da ortak noktalari tabii ki arabesk. Bir de Barbaros Akbulut.
Istanbul Arabesque Project, hepsinin ortak arkadasi Akbulut’un liseden beri kurdugu bir hayal: “Lise yillarim Bingöl’de bakkal önünde eski tip bir kasetçalarda Ibrahim Tatlises sarkilari dinleyerek geçti. Çünkü bölgede sosyal yasama dair tek aktivite buydu. Zaman geçti Istanbul’a geldim, müzisyen oldum. Rafet El Roman’dan Leman Sam’a, Feridun Düzagaç’tan Baris Akarsu’ya birçok pop ve rock sanatçisina eslik ettim. Sahnede tecrübe kazandikça, bende derin izler birakan arabesk müzigi farkli formlarda sekillendirdim.” Ve sonunda bu formlari sahneye tasimaya karar verince 2009’da Istanbul Arabesque Project’i kurdu. Baslarda arabesk grubu kurduklari için küçümsenseler de korkmadilar.

TATLISU ARABESKÇISI DEGILIZ

“Arabesk, itibari yeni yeni iade edilen bir tür. Hele arabesk ve rock kelimelerini yan yana koyunca ister istemez herkesin burnuna o samimiyetsiz, köseyi dönme kokusu geliyor. Ama kendimize güvenimiz tam. Bilgimiz, kültürümüz ve derinligimiz bu elestirilere gögüs gerip cevap verecek kadar güçlü. Son dönemde çikan tatlisu arabeskçilerinden degiliz. Popüler kültürün dayattigi pek çok degeri sorgusuz sualsiz aliyor, hatta aldigimizin farkinda bile olmuyoruz. Bu dayatmalar devam ettikçe kendimizden uzaklasiyoruz. Arabesk buna izin vermiyor. Ne oldugunuzu, nereden geldiginizi o kadar çiplak bir sekilde yüzünüze vuruyor ki, bundan kaçamiyorsunuz. Metropol hayatinin kosturmacasinda özbenligini unutan ya da unutmak zorunda birakilan insanlar, ‘Arabesk mi? Igrenç!’ diye kosarak uzaklasiyor. Ama nereden geldigini ve oldugunu kavrayanlar, bu sorunu asanlar arabesk dinliyor.”
Grup üyeleri hemen albüm yapmak yerine, tepkileri almak ve dogru bilesimi yakalamak için 200 kere konser verdi. Rock müzik içinde pek çok farkli formülü denediler. Dogru sound’u yakaladiklarinda ‘Her Gün Isyanim Var’ albümünü Esen Müzik’ten çikardilar. Albüm konserlerinde olumlu tepkiler alan arabesk hitlerine yer verdiler: Hakki Bulut’tan ‘Ikimiz Bir Fidaniz’ ve ‘Son Mektup’, Ibrahim Tatlises’ten ‘Allah Allah’, Selami Sahin-Halit Çelikoglu’dan ‘Senin Olmaya Geldim’, Sait-Berrin Büyükçinar’dan ‘Isyanim Var’ ve Ali Tekintüre-Yunus Bülbül’den ‘Aldanma Çocuksu Mahsun Yüzüne’.
Sarkilari yorumlarken belli bir standard izlemiyorlar. Bazen ritmik omurgasi, bazen de tansiyonu degisiyor. Ama sarkinin söylenis biçimine özellikle dikkat edip, mümkün oldugunca orijinaline sadik kalmaya çalisiyorlar. Türk Müzigi nagmelerini yorum adina Bati Müzigi’ne kaydirmayi yanlis buluyorlar.

CAZLA KIYASLANIRSA ARABESK POLYANNA

Fazil Say’in “Arabesk yavsakligindan utaniyorum” cümlesinin kurunun yaninda yasi da yaktigini düsünüyoruz. Maksadini fazlasiyla asan talihsiz bir açiklama. Türkiye’deki çarpiklasma tablosunun içinde duran kitleler arabesk müzik seviyor diye arabeski ‘virüs’ olarak görmek yanlis. Dünya üzerinde karamsar temali sözleri olan her müzik türünü günah keçisi yapmak mümkün degil. Bazi caz standartlarinin sözlerinin yaninda ‘Batsin Bu Dünya’ Polyanna sayilir. Orhan Gencebay’in, Hakki Bulut’un, Müslüm Gürses’in adaletsizliklere dikkat çektigi nice sarki var. O zaman arabeskçiler de “Klasik müzik her zaman soylularin ve zenginlerin himayesinde kalmis, halka tepeden bakan kibirli bir müziktir” diye kestirip atsin ve savas baslasin. “Kibir, sanati ve sanatçiyi yavas yavas öldürür” der ve geçeriz. Eksi Sözlük’te bizim için “Fazil Say’i kalpten götürecek grup” diye yazilmis. Okuduk, güldük. Grubun ismini Ingilizce yaparken kendimizi elit göstermek gibi bir kaygimiz yoktu. Sadece bir gün yaban ellerde çalariz da arabeski oralardaki insanlara da kendi anladiklari sekilde sunariz diye düsündük.

Funda Arar’la ortak noktamiz egitim
SOLIST PINAR SEDA GÜNDAY

Daha önce de sahnede arabesk söyledim ama tamamen arabesk sarkilardan olusan bir repertuvarla ilk kez tanistim. Bunun için de ön hazirlik yaptim. Kamuran Akkor, Mine Kosan, Bergen, Kibariye gibi sarkicilarin albümlerini daha dikkatli dinleyip, en bege - Hurriyet Newspaper

Bergen, Kamuran Akkor, Ferdi Tayfur, Ibrahim Tatlises, Müslüm Gürses, Orhan Gencebay.
As the prominent representatives of the genre known in Turkey as arabesque, all these singers have carved themselves specific niches in Turkish music, putting their signatures on unforgettable songs for millions of people. Today, these musicians and their music are transmitted to new generations through various people and groups, one of which -- also the newest one -- is the Istanbul Arabesque Project.
The five-piece band, with Barbaros Akbulut on drums, Özer Kirçak on electric guitar, Korkut Peker on fretless guitar, Erkut Demiroyan on bass and Pinar Çubukçu on vocals, performs rock covers of famous arabesque songs without using any oriental instruments. They have yet to make an album out of the songs but are currently very busy performing in Istanbul. The group's members spoke to Sunday's Zaman, sharing how they combine two seemingly very distinct genres together into one sound.

How did the idea of such a project arise?

Barbaros Akbulut: We've been talking about this among ourselves for a very long time, but we didn't have the courage to do it. In order to implement it, we had to find the right people and wait for the right time. That's why the project has in fact been a little bit delayed. We're not the first people to do such a thing [a combination of various genres], but we're the first group who has such a repertoire. Of late, there has been a certain increase in appreciation of Müslüm Gürses and other arabesque singers' songs in Turkey. This encouraged us more. So we started to work on this project, and we formed a repertoire. Then the concerts started, and now it still remains a project.

How did you form your repertoire?

Akbulut: What is important for us is who [what singers] we should recall on a night of arabesque, such as Kamuran Akkor, Bergen, Selami Sahin, etc. Playing one or two pieces from each of these musicians, our concerts turn into a tribute event.

Pinar Çubukçu: We did form a main repertoire, but in order to develop this we exchanged ideas with a lot of people. Our purpose is to expand our repertoire in accordance with our listeners' demands by selecting songs that are most requested.

What type of feedback are you getting?

Özer Kirçak: As far as we see on the Internet, on our pages on MySpace and Facebook, our work is appreciated. We see the positive reaction during the concerts. But we did not form this group with such an expectation. We did this project not because we thought, “What will people think about it if we make such music?” but because we were listening to this music and we wanted to play it [in this way] and it was the right time to realize [this project]. But, of course, when we receive such feedback, this makes us happy.

The audiences of arabesque and rock music are very different. Does the audience get confused when they listen to your music?

Akbulut: In fact the listener isn't surprised at all because the listener also has that fusion in his mind. We are living in a country where this mixture has been penetrating our minds since our birth. Sometimes people snub this fusion [of music] or as they become part of some [social] classes, they avoid this, but then we see at our concerts some rockers singing arabesque songs along with us. Everybody in Turkey carries this fusion [of musical taste], but they either turn their back to it or repress it, only to reveal it someday.

Will you introduce your work internationally?

Akbulut: Our aim in the long term is to introduce this music to the international arena. There's a huge audience who loves this music in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. We also would like to sing with them in a concert setting.

Will you do duets with arabesque singers?

Çubukçu: During the concerts, whatever cover we're playing, we always try to mention the song's original singer's name, too, because these songs were endeared to the public by these singers. And since we're from a new generation that is trying to pursue the path paved by them, we think that we should pay them the respect they deserve. We would be proud if these people also want to support us and take the stage with us within this project.

Akbulut: Actually what we really want is to give arabesque concerts with rock musicians. To do a project with people who do not originally sing arabesque is a primary aim for us. We want to expand our group because we want to play arabesque with only Western instruments.

Can rock music be transformed into arabesque?

Korkut Peker: Why not? This is all about demand. As a musician, there's an energy that accumulates, and you want to discharge it. This energy can reveal itself either through making rock covers of arabesque songs or transforming rock songs into arabesque or Turkish classical music into jazz. This is all related to the energy and passion that has been building up inside a musician. All musical genres can actu - Today's Zaman

Bergen, Kamuran Akkor, Ferdi Tayfur, Ibrahim Tatlises, Müslüm Gürses, Orhan Gencebay.
As the prominent representatives of the genre known in Turkey as arabesque, all these singers have carved themselves specific niches in Turkish music, putting their signatures on unforgettable songs for millions of people. Today, these musicians and their music are transmitted to new generations through various people and groups, one of which -- also the newest one -- is the Istanbul Arabesque Project.
The five-piece band, with Barbaros Akbulut on drums, Özer Kirçak on electric guitar, Korkut Peker on fretless guitar, Erkut Demiroyan on bass and Pinar Çubukçu on vocals, performs rock covers of famous arabesque songs without using any oriental instruments. They have yet to make an album out of the songs but are currently very busy performing in Istanbul. The group's members spoke to Sunday's Zaman, sharing how they combine two seemingly very distinct genres together into one sound.

How did the idea of such a project arise?

Barbaros Akbulut: We've been talking about this among ourselves for a very long time, but we didn't have the courage to do it. In order to implement it, we had to find the right people and wait for the right time. That's why the project has in fact been a little bit delayed. We're not the first people to do such a thing [a combination of various genres], but we're the first group who has such a repertoire. Of late, there has been a certain increase in appreciation of Müslüm Gürses and other arabesque singers' songs in Turkey. This encouraged us more. So we started to work on this project, and we formed a repertoire. Then the concerts started, and now it still remains a project.

How did you form your repertoire?

Akbulut: What is important for us is who [what singers] we should recall on a night of arabesque, such as Kamuran Akkor, Bergen, Selami Sahin, etc. Playing one or two pieces from each of these musicians, our concerts turn into a tribute event.

Pinar Çubukçu: We did form a main repertoire, but in order to develop this we exchanged ideas with a lot of people. Our purpose is to expand our repertoire in accordance with our listeners' demands by selecting songs that are most requested.

What type of feedback are you getting?

Özer Kirçak: As far as we see on the Internet, on our pages on MySpace and Facebook, our work is appreciated. We see the positive reaction during the concerts. But we did not form this group with such an expectation. We did this project not because we thought, “What will people think about it if we make such music?” but because we were listening to this music and we wanted to play it [in this way] and it was the right time to realize [this project]. But, of course, when we receive such feedback, this makes us happy.

The audiences of arabesque and rock music are very different. Does the audience get confused when they listen to your music?

Akbulut: In fact the listener isn't surprised at all because the listener also has that fusion in his mind. We are living in a country where this mixture has been penetrating our minds since our birth. Sometimes people snub this fusion [of music] or as they become part of some [social] classes, they avoid this, but then we see at our concerts some rockers singing arabesque songs along with us. Everybody in Turkey carries this fusion [of musical taste], but they either turn their back to it or repress it, only to reveal it someday.

Will you introduce your work internationally?

Akbulut: Our aim in the long term is to introduce this music to the international arena. There's a huge audience who loves this music in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. We also would like to sing with them in a concert setting.

Will you do duets with arabesque singers?

Çubukçu: During the concerts, whatever cover we're playing, we always try to mention the song's original singer's name, too, because these songs were endeared to the public by these singers. And since we're from a new generation that is trying to pursue the path paved by them, we think that we should pay them the respect they deserve. We would be proud if these people also want to support us and take the stage with us within this project.

Akbulut: Actually what we really want is to give arabesque concerts with rock musicians. To do a project with people who do not originally sing arabesque is a primary aim for us. We want to expand our group because we want to play arabesque with only Western instruments.

Can rock music be transformed into arabesque?

Korkut Peker: Why not? This is all about demand. As a musician, there's an energy that accumulates, and you want to discharge it. This energy can reveal itself either through making rock covers of arabesque songs or transforming rock songs into arabesque or Turkish classical music into jazz. This is all related to the energy and passion that has been building up inside a musician. All musical genres can actu - Today's Zaman