Erkan OÄur
Born in Ankara in 1954, Oğur moved to East Turkey, Elaziğ, as still a little child. At five started on the violin, and for almost one year played it as a self-taught musician. After violin he began playing bağlama, called there kopuz or irisva or bulgari or balta. It has three strings and it is the origin of the cura, the origin of all different bağlama. Playing in weddings taught him about improvising. Erkan's contributions gave musical substance to many commercial sessions in the thriving Turkish pop scene in the 80's, but it was up to a German radio producer, Birger Gesthuisen, to track him down and to give him the chance for a solo CD. (There was an earlier cassette, released in 1983, which received only small distribution.) Fretless (Feuer und Ice FUEC 714) was published in 1993, and it gave a definite boost to Erkan's solo career. Until then he was held in great esteem by musicians themselves, but his name was like a trade secret. Besides some extraordinary music it contains a well-informed presentation by Gesthuisen, and the complete texts in English, something often lacking in Turkish CDs. Most tunes on that first CD were later rearranged and, combined with additional tracks, released in Turkey (2000) as Bir Ömürlük Misafir (Kalan 184). After the release of Fretless, Erkan participated in numerous projects by other artists, and released a spate of CDs on the Kalan label as leader or co-leader: Gulun Kokusu Vardi (Kalan 86) in 1998; the following year Hiç (Nothing), with saz/cura player Okan Murat Öztürk, (Kalan 135); in 2000 Anadolu Beşik (Kalan 178), and the soundtrack from Eskıya (Kalan 188), a film by Yavuz Turgul. Oğur was also invited to play on the CDs of Okan Murat Öztürk's own group, Bengi. His most recent endeavours include the soundtrack to the impressive Turkish film Yazı Tura, and he's prominent on the solo Cd by his long-time associate Ismail Hakki Demircioğlu, with whom he frequently tours in Turkey and Europe in a program of folk songs and Bektaşı; hymns; hopefully his jazz trio Telvin will also be published. Oğur is widely ackowledged as one of the driving forces in Turkish music today, not only an archivist of the traditional repertoire, but also as an artist determined to keep it alive and vibrant.