AA / Istanbul / Aise Hümeyra Akgün
Musician and artist Omar Faruk Tekbilek said he was inspired by many musicians throughout his artistic life.
The artist, who will meet the public with his “Ensemble With String Quartet” on December 1 at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul and on December 3 at the “CSO ADA” in Ankara, gave an interview to the Anadolu Agency (AA).
Tekbilek, who can use many instruments such as the baglama, ney, darbuka, zurna and bendir at a virtuoso level, mixes different cultures by building a bridge between traditional Turkish music and world music.
“I can cite many masters who have given me a lot on a musical and philosophical level. I can cite Aka Gündüz Kutbay, Burhan Tonguç, Ismet Siral and many American jazz masters.”
– “In instrumental music, everyone can imagine the words they want and make them their own”
The artist indicates that his collaboration with musician Brian Keane influenced his art, recalling that they released the album “Suleiman the Magnificent” together.
Omar Faruk Tekbilek explains that they made this album for a documentary and music exhibition on the life of Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent.
“Preparing the music from different geographies required by this film allowed us to understand that the universal common side of music is made up of 4 types of music. The first is spiritual music, the second is romantic music, the third is folk music and the fourth is popular music We achieved the same interest and success using the same format in our later works,” he says.
He claims to have understood very early that instrumental music was more effective than spoken music.
“I think that the fact that spoken music is only aimed at those who can speak this language limits the universal dimension of music. In instrumental music, everyone can imagine the words they want and make the language their own. music”.
– “Our music is the richest in the world in terms of melodies and rhythms”
Tekbilek emphasizes that many great musicians played an important role in his artistic life.
“There are two great people and musicians in my life. The first is Orhan Gencebay, who took me under his wing and shared his musical experiences with me in Istanbul, where I arrived at a very young age. The other is Brian Keane. They are my main source of inspiration. Of course, apart from them, I can cite many other masters who have given me a lot on a musical and philosophical level. I can cite Aka Gündüz Kutbay, Burhan Tonguç, Ismet Siral and many American jazz masters.
The artist wishes to evoke the importance of Turkish music: “Our music is the richest in the world in terms of melodies and rhythms, even if it is monophonic, because it was born in a region which was the cradle of dozens of civilizations throughout history It is a very important task for every musician to realize this value and present this valuable culture to the whole world with modern understanding. with love and adding my own soul, and I continue to produce new things, God willing, I will continue until my last breath.
– “What excites me is meeting the inhabitants of my dear country”
“We will have two concerts, the first at the AKM in Istanbul on Sunday, December 1st and the 2nd at the CSO ADA in Ankara on Tuesday, December 3. These two venues are among the most valuable artistic centers in our country. We are very happy and excited to perform these concerts in my own country after a long hiatus As usual, we will present the most popular music from four different genres, selected from my albums, as well as examples of our new ones. productions. For the first time in Türkiye, in addition to my own band, a 4-piece string orchestra and acoustic bass will add deeper meaning to our music,” he shares.
The artist likes to meet his audience after the concerts.
“What also excites me is meeting the people of my beloved country after the concerts. There I will dedicate my two albums and my new biographical book entitled “Nefes-Breath”, which is presented in Turkish and in English and which tells the story of my life with the help of numerous artistic photographs”.
The artist, who has lived in the United States for 45 years with his children and grandchildren and has worked for some time in Adana, his father’s hometown, concludes: “I want to share what I have accumulated in my artistic life with my country and especially with young people.”
*Translated from Turkish Tuncay Çakmak
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