Mercan Dede: Nefes (Oddech)
Doublemoon Records 2006

world music: Turcja / ney / electronic-etno-fusion / jazz / fusion / groove / new age



TEMPORARY OUT OF STOCK!

On Breath, 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. The album comes to life with the help of his musician friends: Canadian Ben Grosman plays the extremely rare Hurdy Gurdy saz and contributes to Nefes through special recording session from Toronto together with Hugh Marsh who returns with his violin. Mercan Dede accompanies trombone player Steve Turre by playing sea shells. Magical songstress Aynur Dogan and Iranian vocalist Azam Ali breathe life into the songs on the album. Kani Karaca is eulogized with an ode read by a famous mevlithan who “Worships with his voice”. In addition, we bear witness to Mercan Dede’s first foray into being a vocalist.

A departure from his previous albums, “Nefes” is also a return for Mercan Dede. Traveling the world following the song of his soul, Mercan Dede delivers to us a deeply personal album recounting the wonderlands he has taken in, day by day, breath by breath.
(info wydawcy)



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.

Mercan Dede is keen to bring his extraordinary music and stagecraft everywhere in the world because he feels 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. Instead of talking about war in Iraq, if you can make a sound of a small instrument from an Iraqi village, you can tell people more about what is going on there. For me, the future is electronic and folkloric.”
[za: markjberry.blogs.com] dodatkowi wykonawcy:

• Ismail Darici - percussion, tef
• Sheema Mukherjee - sitar
• Susheela Raman - vocal
• Eyyup Hamis - ney, kavala
• Mahmut Yalay - fretless and classical guitar
• Ozcan Deniz - vocal
• Ceza - vocal

1. Hininga
2. Dem
3. Ginhawa
4. Samana
5. Huo
6. Zefir
7. Napas
8. Engewal
9. Breath
10. Huxi
11. Halitus
12. Souffle
13. Atman
14. Behin
15. Moya Alitu