Bouzouki Orhan experiences new dynamics in ethnic music

Holding a series of concerts with international names within the “Turkophony” project, Osman will perform on Jan. 20 at İstanbul’s Ghetto Club with Kai Eckhardt, Sean Rickman and Chris Paul Robinson. The American musicians will perform the compositions of the Turkish bouzouki player. Osman shares the happy news that the concert will be part of a series of live performances he hopes will continue.

In an interview with Sunday’s Zaman, Osman speaks about his sometimes bumpy musical journey and his new projects.

Bouzouki is like an inseparable part of your being, although it is a Greek instrument. Do you think that you are now changing this perception that only Greeks play the bouzouki?

Of course, the bouzouki is an instrument unique to the Greeks. It’s like the bağlama for us. It is not often that one sees the bouzouki on different stages. While I was touring in Germany, a music researcher told me that he was listening to the bouzouki for the first time at a place where jazz music was played. But I do not consider separate music styles. I am stimulated by my emotions, and I’m trying to make my own music with the bouzouki. You cannot classify my music as Turkish, jazz, Greek or something else. Since it is new and different, I couldn’t name it, either. In 1956 the bouzouki was forbidden in Greece. It was played in prisons or coffeehouses secretly. And the cura bouzouki, a type of bouzouki that the Greek call baglamadaki, like a pocket bouzouki, was made at this time since it was easy to hide. In 1958, Manolis Hiotis turned a bouzouki into an electric bouzouki. He made the bouzouki a more harmonic instrument, and by integrating it with a wind orchestra, he established a modern concept. It was a revolution. In this way the bouzouki was re-established. Now, my state of mind is like that of Manolis. I do not want to Turkify or Greekify the bouzouki. I would like it to be seen as a world instrument, and I am intending to do this with my own music.

You have a unique place in the musical world. As you complete very significant projects, you stay away from short-term, commercial jobs. Is this something deliberate?

Of course, nobody wants to not have business; there is a business side to every job. In other words, you would like to obtain the reward for what you have done. I do not have a specific aim to stay away from popularity, and I would never belittle popularity. What is important is to achieve popularity in the right way. I am a man who loves to move at a turtle’s pace. But I work like a bee.

You encountered many difficulties. What happened after you went to Athens? How did you discover the bouzouki?

I am from the Uysallı village of Komotini. There were older boys playing the bouzouki and singing in the square. I was a kid. It just attracted my attention, and I liked its tone very much. When one of the boys left the bouzouki, I took it. I remember holding it upside down. And the boy said, “You can’t play it!” I heard this five times in my life. But despite everything, I am playing it! After the bouzouki and music entered my life, things developed rapidly. I went to Athens and met very different musicians there. I tried to learn something from them. I worked with very good orchestras and musicians in Athens. All these were very important experiences for me.

You say you have had some problems concerning your identity in Athens. What kind of problems did you encounter?

People living as minorities always have such problems. What is important is to turn these difficulties into a favorable situation. My biggest problem was that my name was Orhan Osman. I had received a business proposition from the Komotini Rex Music Hall. It was an important place. We were to take the stage five times a week, and we had 50 days of rehearsal. I attended all 50 days of rehearsals. There were eight singers, and I had memorized all their repertoires. Everybody was happy with me at the end of the rehearsals. At the end, it was time to earn money. Then one of the musicians, Stefanos, came and said, “We do not want a Muslim in our orchestra.” I was puzzled. Then they worked with a Greek who played the bouzouki very badly. I broke my bouzouki because of my anger. And I picked cotton in the field in order to forget the bouzouki. While I used to pick cotton, I used to dream. Now I’m living my dreams. Fifteen years had passed when one day I met Stefanos. He was working at a dry cleaner’s.

How did you decide to come to Turkey?

I came to Turkey at the age of 20 to travel. I was not intending to live here. I met the person I love, and I stayed here. I am also content in terms of my musical career. I am inspired here. For me, Turkey is a very good place for music. And for this reason, I invite international musicians in order to show this place and my music in a better way, and I share the same stage with my Turkish friends. A famous saying for today: I am experiencing an expansion of music these days.

And the Turkophony project, how did it begin? And when will the project be turned into an album?

Actually it started with Horacio Hernandez’s arrival to Turkey. It was 2005 or 2006. We made a pilot record with Horacio and his team. I participated since I wondered what it would be like working with a world-renowned musician. It was a process that tested me. I have always tested myself. If I feel good, it means that I have passed that test. The second person was Dave Weckl. We had a concert on December 2008, and it was very important for me to work with Weckl. We decided to continue our musical exchanges. We are still conducting the events via my own firm, ON Music Production, and we continue on our musical exchange under the name “Turkophony All Stars.” Last month we had a concert with Trilok Gurtu and Dominique Di Piazza. Of course, Turkophony is not an ordinary project, it develops continuously. After a series of concerts, I am intending to release it as a DVD or an album.

Will there be any surprises for your fans during your next concert?

There are always some little surprises for my audiences at my concerts, and there are some special things that I’m thinking of for this concert. We will record it live as well as recording in a studio with the same team. Dennis Moddy and Suden Hoca will make the live recording during the concert. I also want everybody to participate. We will record the applause and the reactions! And we will use a recording table, the most expensive table, for the first time in Turkey. I am very excited, and I want to thank Galatasaray İTM for the recordings.

Will there be any songs that you will play for the first time at the concert?

Yes, there will be some songs that aren’t on my albums. We will also determine the songs according to the ambiance and the place. I composed new songs for the concert, and my favorite songs are “Kırşehir ile Derin.” I hope the audience likes my new songs. I like concerts with rhythm instead of lifeless concerts.

How do you determine the people you want to work with?

I have chosen people who make me feel excited and make me see the future of music. Actually, I compose songs according to the musicians. For example, “Karadeniz” (Black Sea) and “Balkan” were two of the songs that I re-arranged for Dave Weckl. “On Dakika” (10 Minutes) and “Derin” (Deep) are a good fit for Trilok. I am keeping the songs which have a more funk sound for Kai Eckhardt and his team. I will put on a concert with Bireli Lagrene in the future, and he is someone I want to work with, including with my compositions like “Swing Name.”

You also mention the concept of Turkish jazz. What does that mean for you?

Turkish jazz is not an established style at all in terms of world standards. We have very important musicians like Aydın Esen, Fahir Atakoğlu, Kutsi Ergüner and many others. But just as Latin jazz, African jazz and European jazz have taken their place in the world and Balkan jazz is getting more popular, our music should also take its place as well. The only way to develop this music is to work and to concentrate on this. There should be some funds for professional musicians just like there is for cinema and theater. If the government supports musicians, I’m sure we’ll come back with awards because we are making music in line with world standards.

Apart from releasing a new album in March, you are now also a producer. What are you working on as a producer?

I released an album in the rebetiko style. You know, life goes on. In order to fund such ethnic concerts and complete my projects, I work on other kinds of music, too. Because of the recent situation with record labels, we founded our own label. It was impossible to produce in such a state. At most of the record labels, there are people who are fed up with their lives, without any ideas and people who only want to earn money. We are not like this, and we removed ourselves from this situation in order to produce better work and to feel better about ourselves. Now we only publish our albums, but, of course, we are intending to work with other artists in the future.