Fikri Karayel (born 7 February 1987) is a

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer and songwriter. He was born in Zodeia, where he lived throughout his childhood. He was named after his grandfather, Fikri Karayel, a popular sportsman after whom the local primary school and Fikri Karayel Stadium were named. He was inspired and helped by the local band

SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...

, and he quickly developed a passion for music. He started singing at the fifth year of the primary school and had his first performance to a broad audience at the Orange Festival of

Morphou Morphou ( el, Μόρφου; tr, Omorfo or ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. It is the administrative center of the Güzelyurt District of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominantl ...

. He went on to study

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

at the

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

; meanwhile, he joined the band Refik and started composing songs that became popular. He performed before concerts of Turkish bands such as Duman and thus developed a Turkish Cypriot fan base, during this time, he became known in Turkey as

Haluk Levent Haluk Levent (born Haluk Acil; 26 November 1968) is a Turkish rock music singer who helped revive the long forgotten Anatolian rock Anatolian rock ( tr, Anadolu rock), or known as Turkish psychedelic rock, is a fusion of Turkish folk music ...

performed one of his songs. His first popular song was "Şehit" ("Martyr"). "Trenler" ("Trains"), "Hayal Edemezsin" ("You Can't Imagine") and "Morgue" ("Morg") are other popular songs by Karayel; "Hayal Edemezsin" was especially a great hit in Turkey as it became very popular among

alternative music Alternative music may refer to the following types of music: *Alternative rock *Alternative pop *Alternative R&B *Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul *Alternative reggaeton *Alternative hip hop *Alternative dance *Alternative metal *Chris ...

listeners, remaining at number 1 on Myspace Turkey for two years. In 2014, he performed the soundtrack for the Turkish-Turkish Cypriot movie '' Seni Seviyorum Adamım'' ("I Love You Man") and received the best singer award from the

Near East University Near East University (NEU; tr, Yakın Doğu Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as YDÜ) is a private university located in North Cyprus. It was founded in North Nicosia in 1988, by Suat Günsel, a Turkish Cypriot who is the 100% owner of NEU. ...

. In 2015, he released his first album, ''Zor Zamanlar'' ("Hard Times") and gave his first concert in

Istanbul 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, ...

, Turkey.

Discography

Studio albums

''Zor Zamanlar'' (2014)

''Uzaktan'' (2021)

Singles

Songs written

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karayel, Fikri 1987 births Living people 21st-century Cypriot male singers Cypriot male singer-songwriters Turkish Cypriot singers People from Nicosia District Turkish Cypriot expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of Kingston University