Aynur Doğan (born 1 March 1975) is a contemporary

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

singer and musician from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Career

Aynur Doğan was born in

Çemişgezek Çemişgezek ( ku, Melkişî; hy, Չմշկածագ, translit=Čmškacag) is a town and district of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The mayor is Levent Metin Yıldız ( AKP). The district has a population of 7,418 as of 2021. Demographics The town an ...

, a small mountain town in

Tunceli Province Tunceli Province ( tr, Tunceli ili, ku, Parêzgeha Dêrsimê, Zazaki: ), formerly Dersim Province, is located in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The least densely-populated province in Turkey, it was originally named ''Dersim Province' ...

and fled to

İstanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 1992. She studied ''saz'' and ''türkü'' singing in an influential music school in Istanbul, the Arif Sağ Müsik. In 2004 she released the album ''Keçe Kurdan'' on

Kalan Müzik Kalan Müzik or Kalan Music for the West is a Turkish independent record label company based in Istanbul. It was founded in 1991 by Hasan Saltık. It specializes in releasing Saltık's recordings of classical and traditional ethnic and folk musi ...

label. ''Keçe Kurdan'' was banned in 2005 due to the fact that two words in the song, ''Keçe'' (Girl) and ''Ceng'' (battle), according to a court in Diyarbakır, would encourage women to leave their partners, go to the mountains and hence the words promote division. The following year the ban was lifted. In 2005 she had a small role as herself in the movie Gönul Yarası. In 2012, following repeated threats by right-wing and anti-Kurdish militants, she relocated to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Aynur is a vocal artist who specializes in infusing traditional Kurdish folk music with a contemporary sensibility influenced by Western music. Her stunning vocal style and success in the music world has allowed her to become a prominent representative of Kurdish people in Turkey and throughout the world. She has taken the wealth of Kurdish oral tradition to the international stage that many of them at least 300 years old. Aynur has collaborated with numerous musicians, including

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

and the

Silk Road Ensemble Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and ...

Kayhan Kalhor Kayhan Kalhor ( fa, کیهان کلهر, ku, کەیھان کەڵھوڕ, translit=Keyhan Kelhur, born 24 November 1964) is an Iranian-Kurds, Kurdish kamancheh and setar player and vocalist composer and master of Art music, classical Iranian tradi ...

Javier Limón Javier Limón (born 1973) is a record producer, singer and songwriter born and raised in Madrid, Spain. Limón has worked with several artists, mainly from Spain, since he incorporates elements of flamenco rhythm to his work. Besides his work as ...

Kinan Azmeh Kinan Azmeh ( ar, كنان العظمة, Kinān Azme, born June 10, 1976, in Damascus), is a Syrian clarinet player and composer of contemporary music. Performing with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the Bavari ...

, Nederland Blazers Ensemble and NDR Bigband and many more. Meanwhile, she appeared in

Fatih Akın Fatih Akin (Turkish: Fatih Akın, born 25 August 1973) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Head ...

's documentary movie “ Crossing the Bridge / The Sound of Istanbul ” as a singer and was also part of the documentary film about Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble named "

The music of Strangers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

" directed by

Morgan Neville Morgan Neville (born October 10, 1967) is an American film producer, director and writer. His acclaimed film ''20 Feet from Stardom'' won him the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014 as well as a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. ...

in 2015.

Awards And Recognition

In 2017, Aynur received the Master of Mediterranean Music Award in the category of “Mediterranean Women in Action” from the

Berklee Mediterranean Music Institute Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cour ...

. This award recognized Aynur's efforts to preserve and reinterpret Kurdish folk music, which has transformed her into an influential role model for other women artists on the Mediterranean music scene who are seeking to share their voices. In August 2021 she was granted the Womex award for her resilience to perform in an environment in which she both as a Kurd and an Alevi has often been discriminated. ''Whenever she takes a melody, she makes it her own, transforming it into something beautiful, and every note, every microtone, every word reaches depth and unparalleled beauty. She is a reason to love live music for centuries.” – Javier Limon

Albums

*'' Hêdur'', 2020, * '' Hawniyaz'', Harmonia Mundi, 2016 * '' Hevra'', Sony Music Classical, 2013, * '' Rewend'', Sony Music, 2010 * '' Nûpel'', Kalan Music, 2005 * '' Keçe Kurdan'', Kalan Music, 2004 * ''Seyir'', 2002

Albums on which she has been featured

*'' Hawniyaz'', (2016) *''Güldünya Şarkıları'', (2008) *

Zülfü Livaneli Ömer Zülfü Livaneli (born 20 June 1946), is a Turkish musician, author, poet, and politician. Livaneli was imprisoned several times during the 1971 Turkish coup d'état because of his political views and had to leave Turkey in 1972 and went ...

''Bir Kuşaktan Bir Kuşağa, Dağlara Küstüm Ali'' (2016) * Kardeş Türküler, ''Bahar'' (2005) *

Mercan Dede Mercan Dede (born Arkın Ilıcalı, 1966), also known as DJ Arkin Allen, is a Turkish-Canadian composer, ney and bendir player, DJ, and producer. He is a world music artist, playing a fusion of traditional acoustic Turkish and other oriental ...

, ''Nefes (Breath)'', (2006) *Orient Expressions, ''Divan'', (2004) *Nederland Blazer Ensemble, ''Turqoıse'' (2006) *

Mor ve Ötesi Mor ve ötesi (literally ''Purple and Beyond''; a play on the word '' morötesi'', meaning ultraviolet) is a Turkish alternative rock band from Istanbul. Its four current members are Harun Tekin (vocals and rhythm guitar), Kerem Kabadayı (drum ...

, ''Mermiler'' (2012) *A. Rıza - Hüseyin Albayrak, ''Böyle Buyurdu Aşık'' (2013), ''Şah Hatayi Deyişleri'' (2005) *Metin Kemal Kahraman, ''Ferfecir'', (1999), ''Sürella'', (2000) *Lütfü Gültekin, ''Gül Türküleri'' (2003), ''Derman Bizdedir'', (1999) *

Grup Yorum Grup Yorum is a band from Turkey known for their political songwriting. Grup Yorum (''Yorum'' means interpretation or comment in Turkish) has released twenty-three albums and one film since 1985. Some of the group's concerts and albums were bann ...

, ''Yürüyüş'', (2003)

References

External links

Official website

"Kurdish voice in a new world,"
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', September 17, 2006
"SONGLINES: AYNUR / SOLACE IN EXILE"
September 4, 2020

October 23, 2018
"World Music Central: Artist Profiles / Aynur"
September 13, 2018
"Qantara: Trost aus den Klängen der Heimat"
November 17, 2020
"Kurdish singer Aynur Dogan performs next to Italian conductor Riccardo Muti"
,July 5, 2020
"Kurdish singer Aynur received the Master of Mediterranean Music Award 2017"
March 8, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dogan, Aynur 1975 births Living people People from Çemişgezek Turkish Kurdish people Kurdish women singers Kurdish-language singers 21st-century Turkish women singers