Fatih Erkoç pays homage to Turkish culture with new album

Compiling folk songs from almost every region of Anatolia, Erkoç has been largely inspired by the poems of 17th century Turkish folk poet Karacaoğlan. “I set different poems by various poets to music,” says Erkoç, in an interview with Sunday’s Zaman. “But Karacaoğlan appeals to me so strongly. When I read Karacaoğlan’s poems, the melody comes into my mind automatically; I’m so inspired by his style.”

Encouraged by his brother Sinan Erkoç and his friend Tevfik Fikret Tufan, Erkoç’s efforts at setting folk poems to music go back almost 30 years. “When I was in Norway in 1975, I had Karacaoğlan’s book with me. And I composed one of the songs in the album when I was reading his poems at that time [Bir Yiğit de Bir Güzeli Severse/If a Courageous Man Loves a Beauty]. But it was not like a folk song; I had composed it with my guitar immediately at the moment I read the poem.”

Simple is the hardest

Nobody can deny Erkoç’s skills in understanding different kinds of music in his unique way. But what is hardest to do, says Erkoç, is to create a simple artistic work. “It is very hard to do something both simple and good,” Erkoç notes, “and Karacaoğlan’s poems fit this [mold] very well because they are both very simple and beautiful.” Erkoç is very confident in his argument. “I can compose at least 10 very hard compositions in a day, but they have to be beautiful at the same time. If a work is both simple and beautiful, its artistic aspect is at a higher level since you can share it with people, too.”

The album largely reflects Erkoç’s view of simplicity. Songs are arranged by Fatih Erkoç and İskender Paydaş under the editorship of Erdem Uyanık in a style similar to pop, with guitars being the dominant instrument, giving it a “chill-out” feeling at the same time. “I feel this serenity in the album, too, particularly because of the vocal technique I used. I guarantee listeners won’t be bored and that they will be able to escape to a different world.”

Maybe it is one of the reasons why the album’s opening song was “Seher Yeli.” “It is a very nice piece,” says Erkoç. “It makes people smile when they hear it. So, we gave the album its name as well.”

Undertaking a cultural mission

Erkoç indicates that he perceived this album as a mission for himself. “Folk songs are our own property. They are the common property of Turkey, Anatolia,” says Erkoç. “There is no other thing that best describe us,” says Erkoç, adding that he has finally fulfilled his own longing. “I wish I would have been able to make such works long ago. You see, I made an effort even in the 1970s, but because of economic concerns, when I was occupied with pop music I had to play other kinds of instruments and sing different kinds of music.”

Nevertheless, Erkoç, who has always known how to benefit from different experiences in his life, also recognized that he has not written many folk songs over the course of his career. “I have had the opportunity to listen and to learn different kinds of music from different cultures on my musical journey. But I have always felt there was something missing, and I believe that now I have fulfilled this with this album.”

For Erkoç, Turkish folk songs are wonderful things that are hard to describe, and he is particularly fond of their simplicity. Thus, he is seeking to sing them as best he can but also in his own unique way. “I can feel any music that I sing or play deep inside, and I believe that I can understand and perform any kind of music in a good way,” says Erkoç. “In this respect, I wanted to encourage especially young people who don’t listen to Turkish folk songs to listen to these songs through this album.”

However, Erkoç states that, whether in pop or other types of music, it is important that songs are not separated from their essence. “We have kept the essence of the songs, but indeed this album reflects a sincere and warm outlook from my own soul,” expresses Erkoç about his feelings for the album.

Awaiting projects

Erkoç has many projects that he would like to do, but he is waiting for the right time. However, he gives some good news to his fans. “I will make an album of traditional Turkish music, and we expect that this will be finished by 2011,” says Erkoç. “It will be composed of the most classical works of Turkish classical music and the most well-known songs of Münir Nurettin Selçuk. But apart from this, I will release a pop single in October, and by the end of March 2010 we will be releasing an album by Sinan Erkoç.”

Erkoç’s other projects seem to illustrate that he doesn’t accept any limits. “I have another project in the works where I will use the oud,” he says. “There are 10 to 15 works that I have composed with the oud and thus have to be played with the oud. But I have to find a group for this project, which will be largely instrumental, maybe with only some improvisational singing, and when the right time comes, I am sure that I will be able to work with whoever I want since there are many good musicians in Turkey.”

“There is also another project where a symphony orchestra would play my [non-jazz] compositions as well a symphony orchestra playing my jazz compositions. And, there was a project that has been on hold for years that I had agreed to do with Ercan Saatçi. We intended to play very famous Turkish songs, even arabesque songs, with a symphony orchestra.”

As Erkoç mentions these projects, he recalls the fact that musicians are discouraged because of illegal music downloads. “Musicians would be more productive if downloads were prevented,” states Erkoç. “Otherwise, how are we expected to go on like this?” In this respect, Erkoç rejects the idea that well-qualified work shouldn’t have commercial concerns. “Why shouldn’t good songs be listened to by the masses?”