With Album II. Mahmut, III. Selim, Sultan Abdulaziz, IV. You are embarking on a musical journey in jazz style between the Murad and Sultan Aziz periods…

Murat OBENLER
Musician Levent Soyer's Serai Jazz album, which consists of 6 tracks, is the first album in our country under the titles of ethnic – fusion / ethnic – jazz, and takes music lovers to the gardens of the Ottoman palaces, sometimes to their special rooms, corridors, kitchen and harem, depending on their imagination. We had a very pleasant interview by contacting him virtually.

QUESTION: There are many types of music performed during the Ottoman period such as Sufi music, Sufi music, Levantine music, Palace music, Baroque music, Folk Music, Classical Turkish Music. As a musician, what is your connection to this music?
SOYER: First of all, thank you very much for including me, my ideas and my music.

As a Turkish Cypriot, we cannot deny that we have organic ties to Anatolian and Ottoman traditions and culture. If we consider the Ottoman Empire, we can say that it had a cosmopolitan, unifying and integrative perspective, that it was influenced by the Byzantine melodies of that period and the previous period, the makam music originating from Anatolian modes, the melodic structures of Farsi and Mesopotamia, and created its own musical language by combining them.

In Anatolia, there was a rhythm and movement in the languages ​​of shamans, Dedekorkut, folk poets, and in the attitudes and calmness of Turkmen husbands and dervishes. I remember being inspired by these when I was a child, either by listening to them on TRT radios or on television. While I was entering my high school years, I was very impressed by listening to the Anatolian Pop album of the Mongols, and also finding the sufi-flamenco works of master Kudsi Ergüner reinforced some of my thoughts and artistic philosophy. I have always had a notion of being experimental and adaptive between genres. Beyond a personal preference, I can say that I put the anxiety of creating an identity on myself with music. I have gained the understanding to combine the influence of not only music but also philosophy, science and visual arts in this way.
 

“It was freedom and improvisation that brought me closer to jazz”
 

QUESTION: How did you come up with the idea of ​​reinterpreting the artistic productions (especially music) in the Ottoman period in the style of jazz?

SOYER: Jazz is actually a title that includes freedom and expresses this to us. Although I do not like to divide music into genres, again, the masses cause the emergence of some mainstream movements with their own socio-cultural eyes. Improvisation, which is the fundamental dynamic in jazz, emphasizes freedom of expression but encourages its application within a certain framework. It was the unknown that brought me closer to jazz, freedom and improvisation. In fact, the sounds coming from the radio that my father used to listen to or from the radio that my grandmother turned on while I was growing up in our house with many musical genres settled in my mind (mind) over time and became the impressions on this album in the future.
 

“World War II, which had an impact on Cyprus. Mahmut and III. I tried to choose from Selim's works"
 

QUESTION: How was the selection of the sultans who also participated in the CD work, how did you determine it? If I ask separately from their reigns, we observe a (many) artistic talent and interest and production in music/poetry/painting in all of these sultans.
 

SOYER: I actually chose based on my own musical, melodic taste. Also, II., which had an effect on Cyprus in particular. Mahmut, III. I studied sultans like Selim and tried to choose from their works that could transform into jazz and a new music. I have also included the works of Sultan Abdulaziz and IV Murad in order to include every period and era in detail. Among them, III is the most suitable for me. Selim's melodies and themes influenced him. I remember that Sultan Aziz's Hijaz Dairy play atmosphere evoked the feeling of a Funk adaptation and inspired me in this way.
 

QUESTION: What kind of a research, recomposition and recording process did you go through in the jazz interpretations of the works of these sultans, who contributed many compositions and songs to the Ottoman music history? On the CD, we also hear tones familiar to Cypriot ears. This probably adds to the uniqueness (character) of the CD and sets it apart from the rest?

SOYER: The recomposition and recording process went very slowly and patiently. I completed the recordings with my own equipment and pianos in my small studio, which I set up at home with my own means. I took risks for what I believed in, I experimented with sonic sounds, I didn't hesitate to make mistakes, it was the artistic understanding that set off from this courage that made this album unique and characterful. The realization of the anxiety of not being like anyone else with a sincere motive.
 

QUESTION: Who contributed to you in this production and product process?

SOYER: I have very valuable friends… First of all, Atakan Sarı, who is a piano virtuoso, multi-instrumentalist, friend since university, contributed to the album by playing the violin for me. Atakan's music and perspective have always impressed me and encouraged me to do further things. Another friend of mine, my dear friend Hüsnü Doğacan, is the director without sparing his efforts and talents in the shooting of the video.

With his partner Uygar Erdim, they helped to reveal the notion of this album by shooting a video clip for Buselik Şarkı (you can watch it on Youtube). The design and drawings were undertaken by my beloved father, my artistic inspiration Veysi Soyer. In addition, in İç Kelam, an original Levent Soyer composition, Gürhan Nuray on the cello and Hasan Ö on the drums of Hicaz Kalender. My Tuna friends accompanied me. In addition, by providing financial assistance to this album, which is an original artistic work, Evkaf helped me to meet the recording-mixing-mastering stages of this album.
 

“Serai Jazz is the first album in our country under the titles of ethnic-fusion / ethnic-jazz”
 

QUESTION: The CD came out of Kalan Music, the number one company in ethnic music in Turkey in 2019. What kind of feedback have you received in the past 2 years? What is the importance of this CD in terms of jazz music productions in our country?

SOYER: As a Turkish Cypriot, it was proud and encouraging to release my album from Kalan Music. Since I know their point of view and the value they attach to original artistic ideas, the publishing house I applied to for the release of the album was Kalan Music. After meeting them and working with them, I understand much better how right I was with this. It is a record company that brings together very valuable people, produces and embraces differences and original ideas no matter what. With the release of the album, we received positive and important reactions and impressions from time to time, from very valuable writers and music critics. Also, Serai Jazz album is the first album in our country to be under the ethnic – fusion / ethnic – jazz titles. In this respect, I can say that it has an identity of its own.

QUESTION: Do you plan to organize live concerts?

SOYER: With the release of the album in December 2019, the onset of the coronavirus epidemic, and the indefinite postponement of concerts, festivals and events in 2020, we put everything on hold. We definitely have a plan for that. In terms of concerts and festivals… We are waiting for healthy and bright days to come. I hope we as humanity get through this crisis.
 

“Ottoman palace music-modal music is an ocean and a sea”
 

QUESTION: Will your tour in this huge Ottoman art world continue after this, or is it just a concept album and it's over?

SOYER: Thank you for this question. I can say that we have already recorded a piece. Truly Ottoman palace music-modal music is an ocean and a sea. I'm sure many more melodious pearls will come out of it, as long as we can keep searching. However, I guess my next project will be a color-harmony memory compilation of years, which will mainly include my own compositions. I try to look at music from a very broad perspective, but I still think that elements from traditional-ethnic culture can be felt, that's how we can establish new music.