Mercan Dede believes that when you put digital, electronic sounds together … Read Full Bio ↴Mercan Dede believes that when you put digital, electronic sounds together with hand-made, human ones, you can create universal language, capable of uniting old and young, ancient and modern, East and West. It's a bold claim, but the Turkish-born and Montreal-based musician/producer/DJ has the career and the music to back it up. When he takes the stage with his group Secret Tribe, he hovers at the side behind his turntables and electronics, occasionally picking up a traditional wooden flute, or ney to float in sweet, breathy melodies, while masters of the kanun (zither), clarinet, darbuka (hand drum) and whatever other instruments he's decided to include that night, ornament his grooves and spin magical, trance melodies to match the whirling of the group's spectacular dervish dancer, Mira Burke. Not to mention the many great international artists appear as guest musicians both in his albums and his concerts.
This contrast between electronica and classical or folkloric arts cuts to the core of the Sufi philosophy that guides this one-of-a-kind artist. 'Those things are not really separate,' says Dede. 'The essence of Sufism is counterpoint. Everything exists with its opposite. On one side, I am doing electronic music. The other side of that is this really acoustic, traditional music.' Dede doesn't just bring in any traditional sounds and sights as adornment to his techno beats. He is ever on the lookout for new collaborators, and they might come from any tradition, any country, any generation. For Secret Tribe's U.S. debut in January, 2004, he flew in three, teenage prodigies of Turkish classical music from Istanbul and two of the pieces they played were improvised during the concert. 'When I choose a musician,' says Dede, 'I need to be connected with them in terms of personality, heart-wise we say in Turkey. We should have a similar energy and feeling about life. The second thing is they need to be done with the technical part of music. Once they've done that, you don't need to worry. They can play anything not from mind but from soul.'
Mercan Dede and Secret Tribe's splendid 2002 release Nar realizes this elegant marriage of old and new stunningly. Along with the groups' spellbinding performances, it is helping them build a worldwide following. When the group plays in Turkey, they can draw as many as 20,000 people. But for Dede'whose name comes from a minor character in a contemporary Turkish novel'it has been a long, highly unconventional road to success. Raised poor in a Turkish village in the 1970s, Dede recalls the moment when listening to the radio as a six-year-old, he fell in love with the sound of the ney. But even when he moved to Istanbul to study journalism, he could not afford an instrument, so he made his first one from a length of plastic plumbing pipe. Although he eventually found a ney teacher, Dede did not pursue music as a career. He was more deeply involved with photography, and by chance, an official at the Saskatoon Public Library in Canada saw some of his work and invited him to come and do an exhibition.
Dede wound up studying multimedia in Saskatoon, and he worked in a bar to earn rent money. That was where he first encountered the art of deejaying. One day the bar's deejay couldn't make it, and Dede stepped in. The techno revolution was just beginning, and Dede was getting in on the ground floor. By the mid-80s, he was traveling to do 'technotribalhouse' deejay gigs under the name Arkin Allen. He debuted as Mercan Dede in 1995 with he released his first album, Sufi Dreams, recorded for Golden Horn Records in San Francisco. The album was a minimalist techno ambiant project featuring the ney flute, and it earned impressive reviews. A few years later, Dede moved to Montreal where he first studied, then taught, at Concordia University, moving ever more forcefully into the burgeoning techno scene. Recordings he made under the name Mercan Dede got noticed in Istanbul, and a festival invited him to perform, expecting an older gentleman, as Dede means 'grandfather' in Turkish. When people saw a young band mixing techno and tradition, they were exhilarated, and Dede has stuck with this adapted name ever since.
Dede formed his first group in 1997 and created more recordings, Journeys of a Dervish (Golden Horn, 1999) Seyahatname (Doublemoon, 2001), and Nar (Doublemoon, 2002 ) From the start, the group was more an idea than a set lineup. 'I always get different musicians,' says Dede, 'all the time. When I do a European tour, each country, I choose a guest musician from that country. This is the essence of the group.' The Canadian TV station Bravo filmed and aired Dede's concert with Turkish master kemence (Persian violin) player Ihsan Ozgen at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in the Fall of 1998. German television producers Saarlandischer Rundfunk were so moved by Dede's music that they traveled to Canada to feature him in their documentary about Sufi Music. While filming Dede at work in Montreal and Toronto in February of 1998, the producers requested that Dede create the soundtrack for this project. Same year Mercan Dede's album Seyahatname includes pieces composed for a dance theatre project, directed and choreographed by Beyhan Murphy for the Turkish State Modern Dance Troupe.
Both as Mercan Dede and his alter ego DJ Arkin Allen, he has performed at events as diverse as the Black & Blue 98 (a world-renowned Montreal circuit party attended by 15,000 people) and a concert of improvisations with on classical Turkish music at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In July 2001, Mercan Dede performed at the highly acclaimed Montreal Jazz Festivals, sharing the General Motors Big Event stage with Burhan Öçal and Jamaaladeen Tacuma, in a concert called 'East Meets the West' before an audience of more than 170,000 people. On that same evening, right after his concert, he appeared at Spectrum, this time performing with his project Montreal Tribal Trio, again as part of the festival program. In 2002, the group electrified the WOMEX world music trade fair in Essen, Germany, and also the International Transmusicales Festival in Rennes.
Dede has also performed with such musical personalities as Kani Karaca, I'hsan Özgen, Misirli Ahmet, Ilhan Ersahin, Peter Murphy, Natacha Atlas, Azam Ali Musafir, I'lhan Ers¸ahin, Jamaledeen Tacuma, Hugh Marsh, Omar Sosa, Mich Gerber, Fazil Say, Susheela Raman, Trans Global Underground, Dhafer Youssef, Coldcut, Dhol Foundation, Emma Shaplin, Ludavico Eunadi, Trilok Gurtu. Mercan Dede and Secret Tribe's summer tour 2003 included Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Arezzo Wave (I'taly), Skopje Festival (Macedonia), Moers Festival (Germany),World Roots Festival (The Netherlands), Jaen-Etnosur (Spain), Rhythm Sticks Festival (UK) and many others. The group's 2004 U.S. debut took place at Joe's Pub in New York in January, 2004, as part of the city's groundbreaking world music marathon at Global Fest. Mercan Dede was invited to play at GlobalFest' (APAP Conference) in New York in January 2004, where 16 different bands from 5 continents played. He performed and completed his USA tour with 3 young gypsy musicians from turkey in their early teens.
Mercan Dede's concert was reviewed by various press and music critics including Global Rhythm Magazine who made a cover story on him and his music calling his performance at Joes Pub; " one of the best world music performance of recent years" .
The following year, turkey & germany based Production Company "Medya' made a documentary film about his life and music which aired the same year and received great reviews.
Mercan Dede also provided music for Pina Bausch's recent work, "Istanbul, Nefes' performed in the city it was named for in the spring of 2003. He calls meeting Pina Bausch one of the most amazing moment in his career. He is commissioned by the Turkish Ministry of Culture as the music director of the Güldestan Project. The project is destined to represent Turkish Culture and Arts all around the Globe.
Over the next three years ( 2005,2006,2007) he travelled the world spanning over 1,5 million km and performed almost every corner of the world. He also released "Water" (2005) and Breath (2006) albums which both topped the BBC world music charts making him the first turkish artist whose albums received the #1 of the world music charts. Over the last 4 years he was also nominated in different categories of world music as the best world music artist of the year by BBC.
In 2007, as a dedication to Sufi master Rumi, he recorded and released his last album "800" as a celebration of his masters 800th birthday. Following it's release, he chose to follow a different path in his life leaving both his beloved record label Doublemoon and management Pozitif, allowing him to continue his journey on his own. Recently he is living quietly and preparing new projects in Montreal. Although he declined to show his recent paintings and visual art works, feeling he is not yet ready, he is however giving signals to including visual arts in his future projects.
Under 9 different names, he has released more than 100 singles world wide. Mercan Dede, Arkin Allen, Blueman and Poundmaker aside, he still keeps 5 other names secret even from his own management and family; believing that nothing should stand between sound and the ear, include the artist himself.
Mercan Dede is keen on bring his extraordinary music and stagecraft to the entire world feeling that its inclusive spirit carries a profound message of understanding and reconciliation. 'I don't like the separation,' says Dede. 'The Sufi poet Rumi has a very good saying: 'If you are everywhere, you are nowhere. If you are somewhere, you are everywhere.' My somewhere is my heart. I try to figure it out. The rest'the hype, the trends'they are not important. We are here for nothing else but Love, the rest is nothing but bunch of gossip" If music does not make us a better person even in a small way, who cares if you are the best musician in the world. I prefer to be someone who follows his heart no matter where it goes. Succes is not something to which I aspire but rather I accept as simply a wonderful gift of life from the Creator as a recogniton of my naive and simple belief that with music we can help ourselves and others in a most humble way.
Whether as Mercan Dede with his Secret Tribe or dj Arkin Allen with his tribal trio; he is one of the most unique artist uniting many people from different backgrounds regardless of their age, cultural background or personal differences never failing to impress his audiences with the explosive energy he creates on stage. He is rightly recognized as one of the most creative, unique yet modest artists in the world music scene today.
This contrast between electronica and classical or folkloric arts cuts to the core of the Sufi philosophy that guides this one-of-a-kind artist. 'Those things are not really separate,' says Dede. 'The essence of Sufism is counterpoint. Everything exists with its opposite. On one side, I am doing electronic music. The other side of that is this really acoustic, traditional music.' Dede doesn't just bring in any traditional sounds and sights as adornment to his techno beats. He is ever on the lookout for new collaborators, and they might come from any tradition, any country, any generation. For Secret Tribe's U.S. debut in January, 2004, he flew in three, teenage prodigies of Turkish classical music from Istanbul and two of the pieces they played were improvised during the concert. 'When I choose a musician,' says Dede, 'I need to be connected with them in terms of personality, heart-wise we say in Turkey. We should have a similar energy and feeling about life. The second thing is they need to be done with the technical part of music. Once they've done that, you don't need to worry. They can play anything not from mind but from soul.'
Mercan Dede and Secret Tribe's splendid 2002 release Nar realizes this elegant marriage of old and new stunningly. Along with the groups' spellbinding performances, it is helping them build a worldwide following. When the group plays in Turkey, they can draw as many as 20,000 people. But for Dede'whose name comes from a minor character in a contemporary Turkish novel'it has been a long, highly unconventional road to success. Raised poor in a Turkish village in the 1970s, Dede recalls the moment when listening to the radio as a six-year-old, he fell in love with the sound of the ney. But even when he moved to Istanbul to study journalism, he could not afford an instrument, so he made his first one from a length of plastic plumbing pipe. Although he eventually found a ney teacher, Dede did not pursue music as a career. He was more deeply involved with photography, and by chance, an official at the Saskatoon Public Library in Canada saw some of his work and invited him to come and do an exhibition.
Dede wound up studying multimedia in Saskatoon, and he worked in a bar to earn rent money. That was where he first encountered the art of deejaying. One day the bar's deejay couldn't make it, and Dede stepped in. The techno revolution was just beginning, and Dede was getting in on the ground floor. By the mid-80s, he was traveling to do 'technotribalhouse' deejay gigs under the name Arkin Allen. He debuted as Mercan Dede in 1995 with he released his first album, Sufi Dreams, recorded for Golden Horn Records in San Francisco. The album was a minimalist techno ambiant project featuring the ney flute, and it earned impressive reviews. A few years later, Dede moved to Montreal where he first studied, then taught, at Concordia University, moving ever more forcefully into the burgeoning techno scene. Recordings he made under the name Mercan Dede got noticed in Istanbul, and a festival invited him to perform, expecting an older gentleman, as Dede means 'grandfather' in Turkish. When people saw a young band mixing techno and tradition, they were exhilarated, and Dede has stuck with this adapted name ever since.
Dede formed his first group in 1997 and created more recordings, Journeys of a Dervish (Golden Horn, 1999) Seyahatname (Doublemoon, 2001), and Nar (Doublemoon, 2002 ) From the start, the group was more an idea than a set lineup. 'I always get different musicians,' says Dede, 'all the time. When I do a European tour, each country, I choose a guest musician from that country. This is the essence of the group.' The Canadian TV station Bravo filmed and aired Dede's concert with Turkish master kemence (Persian violin) player Ihsan Ozgen at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in the Fall of 1998. German television producers Saarlandischer Rundfunk were so moved by Dede's music that they traveled to Canada to feature him in their documentary about Sufi Music. While filming Dede at work in Montreal and Toronto in February of 1998, the producers requested that Dede create the soundtrack for this project. Same year Mercan Dede's album Seyahatname includes pieces composed for a dance theatre project, directed and choreographed by Beyhan Murphy for the Turkish State Modern Dance Troupe.
Both as Mercan Dede and his alter ego DJ Arkin Allen, he has performed at events as diverse as the Black & Blue 98 (a world-renowned Montreal circuit party attended by 15,000 people) and a concert of improvisations with on classical Turkish music at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In July 2001, Mercan Dede performed at the highly acclaimed Montreal Jazz Festivals, sharing the General Motors Big Event stage with Burhan Öçal and Jamaaladeen Tacuma, in a concert called 'East Meets the West' before an audience of more than 170,000 people. On that same evening, right after his concert, he appeared at Spectrum, this time performing with his project Montreal Tribal Trio, again as part of the festival program. In 2002, the group electrified the WOMEX world music trade fair in Essen, Germany, and also the International Transmusicales Festival in Rennes.
Dede has also performed with such musical personalities as Kani Karaca, I'hsan Özgen, Misirli Ahmet, Ilhan Ersahin, Peter Murphy, Natacha Atlas, Azam Ali Musafir, I'lhan Ers¸ahin, Jamaledeen Tacuma, Hugh Marsh, Omar Sosa, Mich Gerber, Fazil Say, Susheela Raman, Trans Global Underground, Dhafer Youssef, Coldcut, Dhol Foundation, Emma Shaplin, Ludavico Eunadi, Trilok Gurtu. Mercan Dede and Secret Tribe's summer tour 2003 included Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Arezzo Wave (I'taly), Skopje Festival (Macedonia), Moers Festival (Germany),World Roots Festival (The Netherlands), Jaen-Etnosur (Spain), Rhythm Sticks Festival (UK) and many others. The group's 2004 U.S. debut took place at Joe's Pub in New York in January, 2004, as part of the city's groundbreaking world music marathon at Global Fest. Mercan Dede was invited to play at GlobalFest' (APAP Conference) in New York in January 2004, where 16 different bands from 5 continents played. He performed and completed his USA tour with 3 young gypsy musicians from turkey in their early teens.
Mercan Dede's concert was reviewed by various press and music critics including Global Rhythm Magazine who made a cover story on him and his music calling his performance at Joes Pub; " one of the best world music performance of recent years" .
The following year, turkey & germany based Production Company "Medya' made a documentary film about his life and music which aired the same year and received great reviews.
Mercan Dede also provided music for Pina Bausch's recent work, "Istanbul, Nefes' performed in the city it was named for in the spring of 2003. He calls meeting Pina Bausch one of the most amazing moment in his career. He is commissioned by the Turkish Ministry of Culture as the music director of the Güldestan Project. The project is destined to represent Turkish Culture and Arts all around the Globe.
Over the next three years ( 2005,2006,2007) he travelled the world spanning over 1,5 million km and performed almost every corner of the world. He also released "Water" (2005) and Breath (2006) albums which both topped the BBC world music charts making him the first turkish artist whose albums received the #1 of the world music charts. Over the last 4 years he was also nominated in different categories of world music as the best world music artist of the year by BBC.
In 2007, as a dedication to Sufi master Rumi, he recorded and released his last album "800" as a celebration of his masters 800th birthday. Following it's release, he chose to follow a different path in his life leaving both his beloved record label Doublemoon and management Pozitif, allowing him to continue his journey on his own. Recently he is living quietly and preparing new projects in Montreal. Although he declined to show his recent paintings and visual art works, feeling he is not yet ready, he is however giving signals to including visual arts in his future projects.
Under 9 different names, he has released more than 100 singles world wide. Mercan Dede, Arkin Allen, Blueman and Poundmaker aside, he still keeps 5 other names secret even from his own management and family; believing that nothing should stand between sound and the ear, include the artist himself.
Mercan Dede is keen on bring his extraordinary music and stagecraft to the entire world feeling that its inclusive spirit carries a profound message of understanding and reconciliation. 'I don't like the separation,' says Dede. 'The Sufi poet Rumi has a very good saying: 'If you are everywhere, you are nowhere. If you are somewhere, you are everywhere.' My somewhere is my heart. I try to figure it out. The rest'the hype, the trends'they are not important. We are here for nothing else but Love, the rest is nothing but bunch of gossip" If music does not make us a better person even in a small way, who cares if you are the best musician in the world. I prefer to be someone who follows his heart no matter where it goes. Succes is not something to which I aspire but rather I accept as simply a wonderful gift of life from the Creator as a recogniton of my naive and simple belief that with music we can help ourselves and others in a most humble way.
Whether as Mercan Dede with his Secret Tribe or dj Arkin Allen with his tribal trio; he is one of the most unique artist uniting many people from different backgrounds regardless of their age, cultural background or personal differences never failing to impress his audiences with the explosive energy he creates on stage. He is rightly recognized as one of the most creative, unique yet modest artists in the world music scene today.
Istanbul
Mercan Dede Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Üsküdara giderken aldı yağmur
Altı da üstü de bir gemi İstanbul
Paslı tozlu eski ve yeni kalmış
Kasnak üstü altı, altı dolu
Sol anahtarı, Marmara, nota, martı
Kocaman aşkları yere düşüp de kalktı
Bu yaşının altında gönül sefası
Kız kulesi karşı, bir de selamsız
Yazı, kışı, baharı çekilecek, kahrı da
Çekiyor ki kahrımızı açıyor bahtı
Akıyor denizi dere gibi ters dönemede
Çekiyor insanı her güne her dönem
Kalabalık açık hava müzesi mahşer
Kimisine şans kimine de mavzer
Kimisine pas da vermeyen bu dilber
Eteğine sarılıp işi (...) dönenler
(...) (...) üfleyip yiyenler
Her bir köşesi neşe bir köşesi dertten
Üsküdara giderikan aldı yağmur
Gönül sefası
Altı da üstü de bir gemi İstanbul
Paslı tozlu eski ve yeni kalmış
Kasnak üstü altı, altı dolu
Sol anahtarı, Marmara, nota, martı
Kocaman aşkları yere düşüp de kalktı
Bu yaşının altında gönül sefası
Kız kulesi karşı, bir de selamsız
Çekiyor ki kahrımızı açıyor bahtı
Akıyor denizi dere gibi ters dönemede
Çekiyor insanı her güne her dönem
Kalabalık açık hava müzesi mahşer
Kimisine şans kimine de mavzer
Kimisine pas da vermeyen bu dilber
Eteğine sarılıp işi (...) dönenler
(...) (...) üfleyip yiyenler
Her bir köşesi neşe bir köşesi dertten
Üsküdara giderikan aldı yağmur
Gönül sefası
The lyrics of "Istanbul" by Mercan Dede take the listener on a poetic journey through the sights, sounds, and emotions of the city of Istanbul. The opening line, "Üsküdara giderken aldı yağmur" (While going to Üsküdar, it started to rain), sets the tone for the rest of the song, as if to suggest that life in Istanbul is unpredictable and full of surprises.
Throughout the song, we hear about a ship in the harbor that is both old and new, full of history and yet still in use. The imagery of the ship is evocative of the city itself, with its mix of ancient and modern architecture, and its rich cultural heritage that is still very much alive today.
As the song progresses, we hear about the joys and sorrows of life in Istanbul, including the "big loves" that can lift us up and the hardships that can bring us down. The Kız Kulesi (Maiden's Tower) is also mentioned, adding a touch of romance and mystery to the lyrics.
The overall message of the song seems to be that life in Istanbul is a wild and unpredictable ride, full of both joy and sorrow, but ultimately worth experiencing for the sense of wonder and beauty that the city inspires.
Line by Line Meaning
Üsküdara giderken aldı yağmur
It started raining while going to Uskudar
Altı da üstü de bir gemi İstanbul
Istanbul is a city with both top and bottom, like a ship
Paslı tozlu eski ve yeni kalmış
Some things in Istanbul are old and rusty, while some are new
Kasnak üstü altı, altı dolu
The kasnak drum is full of rhythm
Sol anahtarı, Marmara, nota, martı
The left key, Marmara, musical notes, seagulls
Kocaman aşkları yere düşüp de kalktı
Great loves have fallen on the ground and gotten back up
Bu yaşının altında gönül sefası
The pleasure of the heart is below this age
Kız kulesi karşı, bir de selamsız
Facing the Maiden's Tower, without any greetings
Yazı, kışı, baharı çekilecek, kahrı da
Summer, winter, spring will be endured, along with its pain
Çekiyor ki kahrımızı açıyor bahtı
The pain we endure opens up our destiny
Akıyor denizi dere gibi ters dönemede
The sea is flowing like a reversed river
Çekiyor insanı her güne her dönem
Life drags people through every day and every season
Kalabalık açık hava müzesi mahşer
Crowded open-air museum of chaos
Kimisine şans kimine de mavzer
Some with luck, some with rifles
Kimisine pas da vermeyen bu dilber
This lady doesn't give rust to some
Eteğine sarılıp işi (...) dönenler
Those who wrap their work around her and turn
(...) (...) üfleyip yiyenler
(...) (...) those who blow and eat
Her bir köşesi neşe bir köşesi dertten
Every corner has joy and sorrow
Üsküdara giderikan aldı yağmur
It started raining while going to Uskudar
Gönül sefası
Pleasure of the heart
Contributed by Grace T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Hüsam Yakar
SÖZLER:
Üsküdara giderken aldı yağmur
Altı da üstü de bir gemi İstanbul
Paslı tozlu eski ve yeni kalmış
Kasnak üstü altı, altı dolu
Sol anahtarı, Marmara, nota, martı
Kocaman aşkları yere düşüp de kalktı
Bu yaşının altında gönül sefası
Kız kulesi karşı, bir de selamsız
Yazı, kışı, baharı çekilecek, kahrı da
Çekiyor ki kahrımızı açıyor bahtı
Akıyor denizi dere gibi ters dönemede
Çekiyor insanı her güne her dönem
Kalabalık açık hava müzesi mahşer
Kimisine şans kimine de mavzer
Kimisine pas da vermeyen bu dilber
Eteğine sarılıp işi (...) dönenler
Yoğurdu üfleyip yiyenler
Her bir köşesi neşe bir köşesi dertten
Üsküdara giderikan aldı yağmur
Gönül sefası
İstanbul
M V
Gerçektençok güzel bir çalışma.. Bizi ileriye götürecek sanatçılar, müzikler, projeler bunlar... çok teşekkürler
antaeres
Wonderful music, absolutely magical. Greetings from the United States! Mercan Dede is incredible!
CAKE5841
Son durak istanbulda da tarihi bir mezarlik olmaliydi.Emegin için Allah razı olsun ve yar ve yardımcın olsun..
galinaoma
A great concert!I'm really sorry that I wasn't there!I like sufi musik very much and I have many CD-s but I'm always ready to hear more! Love and peace!
Ruben Gaytan Lemus
Meksikaliyim ve pek az turkce biliyorum. Muzik cok seviyorum!! Istanbul'de gitmek istiyorum.
IV
Perfect song amazing pictures , Istanbul is a dream city, turks are so friendly ...Been there twice , looking forward to go again soon!! Good evening /morning to incredible Istanbul from Greece ;)
Thais Damasceno
Love, love, love the song! Just love for Istanbul!
Mehmet Demir
Thais Damasceno love you
costixx
Very nice! Music is universal and still, this sound very familiar to us Greeks, like to the rest of Balkanic people i guess! Greetings...
mark kopchak
It is always a thrill to find some new (to me)music. I discovered mercan dede in the middle of the night on, of all things, the national geographic channel. this is beautiful! I want to hear more.