|
contents | world | |||||||||||||
| Music and Performance Art to Promote Peace on September 11th Sertab Erener and Demir Demirkan's new collaboration "Painted on Water" will perform with multicultural bay area band Hazerfan to promote world peace at their September 11th memorial peace concert at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, CA. Both bands are deeply rooted in Turkish culture and music but with jazz, rock and world elements fused deeply within. The show is made possible by the help of bay area's own beloved Yore Folk Dance Ensemble. "With so many people dwelling on the negative and terrible tragedies of 9/11, we wanted to do something special, something to celebrate life, love, and art, " states Hazerfan vocalist Surreyya Hada. Hazerfan is warming the stage for world-renowned artists Sertab Erener and Demir Demirkan. The two acts recently came together to collaborate in a show to promote peace through music, dance and art. "Hopefully if we can begin to participate in life again and share good times, we can begin to pull out of this funk that has been lurking for so long…NOW is the most important moment we have together." Painted On Water, the self-titled album project by the duo of vocalist Sertab Erener and composer/guitarist Demir Demirkan, is more than a breath of fresh air. It's one of the year's unexpected pleasures, a unique excursion through jazz, rock and the duo's own Turkish musical and cultural heritage. The music traces roots back to Anatolian folk music with a modern arrangements, and the live performance features the Turkish art of Ebru, painting on water with brushes and combs to create a marble effect – now made a live art with similarities to those projected on screens at psychedelic shows in the 60s and 70s. Sertab Erener is a Turkish pop star and also a crossover soprano with a vocal range that extends to high F. She is one of the most successful female Turkish pop singers in her homeland, and is considered one of the divas of Turkish pop music. In Europe, she is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with her hit song "Everyway That I Can", although she has had many other achievements outside Turkey. Demir Demirkan is a Turkish songwriter, arranger, singer, co-producer, and guitarist. Demir Demirkan started his music life when he was 13 and played guitar with various groups in college. Demir Demirkan also wrote television jingles and composed soundtracks for television and films. The songs Demir wrote for Sertab Erener were widely accepted in Europe and Turkey. One of these songs, "Every Way That I Can, " won the first prize in the 2003 Eurovision Song Competition and sold 400, 000 units worldwide. HAZERFAN is composing and performing unique original music - a fusion of hard and heavy rock with traditional Turkish and eastern oriental music. Aside from their complex and driving arrangements, Hazerfan features award-winning belly dancers Surreyya Hada and Nyla Crystal, known for their sword work, snake dancing and other exotic performance elements. "Rather than staring at our shoes and chugging simple chords, we want to take our audience on a journey – a journey of the senses, emotions, and visual imagery…" states vocalist and dancer Surreyya Hada, "if people make the effort to come to a show, we expect send them home wanting more – this attitude seems to be missing from a lot of live shows in general." Hazerfan is releasing their long awaited 2nd album this fall and currently planning a tour of Turkey and Europe. About Yore Folk Dance Ensemble: Yore was founded by several folkdance instructors to teach the basics of Turkish ethnic dances from different regions of Turkey. The objective of the group is organizing major shows, showcasing dances from various regions of Turkey, researching hidden cultural dances of Anatolia, and participating in local and international festivals. One of the main goals of the ensemble is to train enough dancers, who could then become Turkish folk dance instructors in the long run. Having formed a strong base of dancers and an audience of all ethnic backgrounds, Yore has evolved into an institution that is ready to support all kinds of ethnic cultural activities from Turkey. As a part of our celebrated diversity in the Bay Area, communities are desperately seeking for sources to learn more about the rich Turkish culture. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |