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Cigdem Aslan will be onstage with Luna Kalamata at 8pm. However, the event starts at 6:30pm and finishes at 11:00 and there are other wonderful acts.
Luna Kalamata will have a special percussion section for this gig as Fotis and Patrick are unavailable. Philip Arditti will play darbouka and Tahir Palali will be on percussion and backing vocals. In rehearsal, this line-up sounded very exciting and had a much fun playing.
Looking forward to this gig with the exciting acoustic Turkish/Balkan/Bulgarian/Greek band Luna Kalamata.
We are learning some new Turkish songs and this should be a great gig. The wonderful Cigdem Aslan is back on vocals following a stunning performance by Eleni Dimopoulou at the last gig at the Gillespie Festival.
A Turkish orchestra appearing and there will be Turkish Poetry.
Luna Kalamata are a large band: Cigdem and Eleni sing and plays percussion; Mutsumi plays violin; Tommo plays mandolo; Issy plays clarinet; Phil (that’s me) plays bass; Fotis plays percussion and Patrick plays Darbucka.
Surprisingly The Hackney Ocean (who have featured some great acts over time) do not appear to have a website. Bizarre! And possibly economically suicidal nowadays. Anyway you can find the venue at:
270 Mare St, Hackney, Hackney, E8 1HE – 020 8525 4250 near Hackney Central and London Fields Train stations.
When I know what time I’m appearing I’ll let you know but the gig runs from 18:30 to 23:00
Hoping to incorporate the upright bass into Luna Kalamata’s sound for the first time.
Audio – Luna Kalamata play Djunjuritsa
Audio – Luna Kalamata play Sina Nari
Audio – Luna Kalamata play Jovano Jovanke
Audio – Luna Kalamata play Laz
Flyer designed by Ozgur Akbaba
[Text from Facebook Event Page]
SHEIKH BEDREDDIN DESTANI, “to be able to sing altogether”
21st November 2009, Hackney Ocean, 18:30-23:00
1st half: Music and poem reciting
2nd Half: Turkish&Kurdish Music Bands
This event will be an epic poem reciting accompanied by a classical music orchestra together with Turkish&Kurdish traditional instruments or you can think that it is a music performance accompanied by an epic poem. Both the music and the poem itself are equally impressive. The music was written by Iskender Ozan Toprak and the poem will be recited by Aysegul Altin and Ozgur Akbaba.
The poem, Seyh Bedreddin Destani, was written by Nazim Hikmet, who is an internationally known Turkish poet, and who spent 13 years in prison and almost rest of his life in exile due to his socialist views, poems, articles and playwrights.
“ To live
free and single like a tree
and in fraternity
like a forest;
this longing is ours.”
Nazim Hikmet, 1947 …
Sheikh Bedreddin lived 600 years ago in Ottoman Empire time, and he was executed by the authorities as his ideas about Islam was considered as against orthodox Islam and taken as atheism. He was defending that hell and heaven didn’t exist and souls cannot come back to life after death. He was suggesting a society, which produce the goods together and consume together. He was against private property and was defending a communal living.
His ideas were spread in Anatolia by himself and his messengers, Borkluce Mustafa and Torlak Kemal. They actually started to build up a communal living in a quite large area in West of Anatolia around Izmir, Aydin, Manisa. They gained followers from Christians, Jewishs as well as Turks and Muslims. They didn`t discriminate any ethnic or religious groups. The common aim was a communal society. They defeated Ottoman Army a few times when they wanted to finish this rioting as they took this movement as a threat to the Empire. Unfortunately they lost the battle when an army of ten thousands was sent by the Emperor whereas they were only ten thousand. 8000 of them were killed during the battle and 2000 were executed after the battle. Their leader in battle, Borkluce Mustafa, didn`t ask for mercy and didn`t deny his ideas and actions and was killed by torture after he was made to watch his 2000 comrades killed in front of his eyes.
Later on, Seikh Bedreddin was captured by the Empire’s spies, acting as believers, after he escaped from his exile. He was taken to the Empire’s sheri`a court. He didn’t deny his ideas either and said “ as we are defeated this time, I am ready to sign under all my ideas” and sentenced to be hanged.
He is still a bright figure from our past and our country. He is still inspiring poets, writers, artists and people to fight for freedom and justice.
In the second half, Genco will take stage and perform his own musics and protest music in Turkish.
Then Cigdem Aslan will sing in Greek (rembetiko) and Turkish, with her band.
Aygul Erce sings her own songs in Turkish with an opera-like style.
Lastly Denge Siyan, which is a Kurdish&Turkish music band.
Ozgur AKBABA
Phil Wain 