New Music From Mercan Dede on Calabash Music

Breath

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:02:55 -0500

On Breath (Nefes), the third release in the four part series that began with Nar (Fire) and continued with Su (Water), Mercan Dede infuses his listeners with the refreshing quality of air. Although Nefes incorporates elements that can be traced to Mercan Dede’s previous two releases, the boundary breaking musical experimentation captured on the album results in a sound undeniably its own. Melancholic and cheerful, on this album Mercan Dede carries out an organic fusion that captures the magic of the East, mystical elements, electronic tones and traditional instrumentation. Released in June 2006 on Doublemoon, Istanbul.

Sufi Dreams

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:02:55 -0500

This mystical, musical meditation is recommended to anyone wanting to be reunited and lovingly consumed by the flame of their inner source. (PJ Birosik, New Age Retailer) Album Details Modern Western Electronic Music with Sacred Sufi Music. The Layers of Ambient Electronic Sound Merge Delightfully with Live Recorded Performances of Eastern Percussion Instruments.

Journeys of a Dervish

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:02:55 -0500

A dervish is a Sufi ecstatic who whirls in circles in order to harmonize himself with the revolutions of the universe.

...Dervish is a word for "threshold,"...

This album, Dede's second on Golden Horn, takes us through our own inner gateways, traveling to many reaches of the world without and within: an Australian didjeridu echoes, a Buddhist chants, crickets chirp, birds sing, drums and rattles rat and tat -- even the sounds of splashing water gush through -- reinforcing the dynamic tension of a soul reaching with persistent energy for the Beloved.

"Fire Drums" magnificently conveys the journey to and from trance.

Dede's ney (reed flute) is prominent on more than half the tracks.

...Faroukh Shams' astonishing vocals, which are featured in the first and last selections, warble, ascend, and descend with amazing control and versatility, conveying possibilities of meaning that extend well beyond mere words. A masterpiece.

-Antoinette Botsford, NAPRA Review, Vol 10 No 5

The success of "Sufi Dreams" was somewhat surprising in light of how unusually deceptive that music is. ...On the follow-up, titled "Journeys of a Dervish," it seems like a further step is taken even deeper into the Sufi worlds.

Compelling, intense rhythms and drum sounds take over on a couple tracks, clearing the mind and challenging the listener.

Traditional Persian songs offer evocative, sensual counterpoint, and the guest vocalists on three or four tracks really deliver, matching the power of the music with emotion and a yearning that cuts right through any cultural reference points.

Mercan Dede plays ney (reed flute), bendir (frame drum), udu drum, cymbals, water drum and synthesizers, adds chanting in parts, and provides the arrangements and the majority of the music.

Other key players and vocalists join in the spirit of this powerful CD, with its combination of healing prayers, fire journeys, remembrances, and ceremonial devotion.

-Lloyd Barde, Backroads Music

Su

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:02:55 -0500

Mercan Dede's fifth studio album "Su" (meaning 'Water') marks the transition to a new era for an artist who has successfully completed his apprenticeship. "Su" invites us on a mesmerizing journey through Eastern sounds, where rhythms from Iran, India, Mediterranean and the Balkans flow together over a platform of contemporary electronic music. Like his previous albums, 'Su' takes its spiritual cue from words of Mevlana, the 13th century Sufi poet and mystic - 'Let yesterday's phrases stay in the past, today we need new words and expressions.'

The album comes out as a soundtrack of Istanbul, a city surrounded by water, the aqua-city, sang by many extraordinary local and international musicians. With her sensuous voice, Susheela Raman hypnotically points us out eternity. Dhafer Youssef’s voice, as powerful as an instrument, runs like water and turns into a cascade as if the whole existence of humanity was rediscovered in mourning. Ceza, the young Turkish urban poet and rapper, delivers strong and sincere words. The interpretation of renowned Turkish folk vocalist Sabahat Akkiraz brings almost a sobering eyewitness account of the agony of Iraqis at war.

Mercan Dede collaborates with masters at their instruments Sheema Mukherjee of Transglobal Underground on sitar, Hugh Marsh on violin, Göksel Baktagir on kanun as well as with promising future great musicians.

Seyahatname

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:02:55 -0500

In "Seyahatname", Dede not only tries to fathom the meaning of "virtual journey" by going into concepts such as east-west, past-future and internal-external but also fuses the profundity and spiritual dimension of Sufi music and electronica, with a sublety of a DJ. Thus, this emerges as a remarkable work of acoustic-electronic music, standing out as a unique example of its own kind.