A special event featuring poetry, music and dance centred on the life of the 13th century Persian poet Mevlana Celaddiin-i Rumi will be streamed globally later this week. The line-up for this special event are renowned Persian musicians Seyed Ali Jaberi and the Hamdel Ensemble, and British Turkis...
Led by Essex Arab funny girl Esther Manito as MC, and with performances from Palestinian hip hop star El Far3i (47Soul), Turkey’s Olcay Bayir, and Alia Al Zougbi, and with DJ Nooriyah spinning some tunes throughout, the evening promises to be an arts extravaganza of Middle Eastern-inspired music and...
Rock musician Hakan Tuna has returned with his third release, Esenkent Dansı, from his 2021 project ‘12 songs 12 stories’. Wholly instrumental, the track is inspired by his experience as a Londoner living in Istanbul. Hakan was born and raised in the British capital, growing up in a “typical Lond...
The Turkish national anthem celebrates its centenary today, after the İstiklal Marşı – or Independence March – was formally adopted as the country’s song on 12 March 1921. The words were written by Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, who bequeathed his work free of charge to the Turkish nation, and the music was...
Ironhand Records dig deep into their musical archives to present us with four outstanding tracks from Mustafa Kuş and his band İmece. These classic tracks are a fine, nostalgic blend of jazz, psychedelic funk and classic Anatolian rhythms. Turkish singer-songwriter Mustafa Kuş (top, far left)...
Rock musician Hakan Tuna returns with the second track of the year, Nazlanma Güzel Nazlanma, which in English means ‘Don’t Play Hard To Get Beautiful Don’t Play Hard To Get’ The song, first recorded by Konkurt in 1977, is part of Tuna’s ‘12 Songs 12 Stories’ project, where he pays homage to the U...
Rock musician Hakan Tuna has hit the New Year running, with a new musical project called ‘12 songs 12 stories’ that will see him release a new single every month. Tuna’s first project track is ‘Bütün İnsanlara’[‘For All The People’], an Anatolian rock ditty inspired by a poem of the same name by...
In these uncertain and unsettling coronavirus times, it’s vital we nourish our minds and spirit with positivity, and when this new track from Sezin Angelova dropped in my inbox, I eagerly lapped it up. The London-based singer songwriter has teamed up with multi-instrumentalist and seasoned sessio...
A small charity in North London is hoping to hit their £5,000 fundraising target with their cover of Huey Lewis and the News’ hit 80s song The Power of Love. Enfield’s Family Based Solutions (FBS), which supports vulnerable families, have teamed up with local stars and businesses to produce a fun vi...
Newly released on British label Night Dreamers, Anatolia Sun is Moğollar’s first studio album since 2009’s Umut Yollunu Bulur. The new double album, reprising 16 of the band’s classic songs with fresh sounds for 2020, has sent fans into a frenzy. Emerging in the late 60s and finding fame in 70s t...
