Mercan Dede (born Arkın Ilıcalı, 1966), also known as DJ Arkin Allen, is a Turkish-

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

composer,

ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

and bendir player, DJ, and producer. He is a world music artist, playing a fusion of traditional acoustic Turkish and other oriental styles with electronic sounds. Dede has worked in collaboration with Turkish and international musicians, such as

Susheela Raman Susheela Raman (born 21 July 1973) is a British musician. She was nominated for the 2006 BBC World Music Awards. Her debut album '' Salt Rain'' was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2001. She is known for energetic, vibrant, syncretic, and u ...

Azam Ali Azam Ali ( fa, اعظم علی) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian musician. As of 2013, she has released eight full-length albums with the bands Vas (band), VAS and Niyaz, as well as four solo albums. Biography She was born in Tehran on 3 October ...

Dhafer Youssef Dhafer Youssef ( ar, ظافر يوسف; born 19 November 1967) is a Tunisian composer, singer and oud player. Biography Dhafer Youssef was born in Téboulba (a small village of coastal Tunisia); his grandfather was a muezzin. He calls the radio ...

, Sheema Mukherjee (

Transglobal Underground Transglobal Underground (sometimes written as Trans-Global Underground) is an English electro-world music group, specializing in a fusion of western, Asian and African music styles (sometimes labelled world fusion and ethno techno). Their f ...

), and

Hugh Marsh Hugh Marsh (born June 5, 1955) is a violinist from Toronto, known for his electric violin sound. Marsh was nominated for a 2007 Juno Award in the best contemporary jazz album category. Early days Marsh was born in Montreal, Quebec and brought ...

Early life and education

Dede was born to working-class secular parents in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

.Breath of life for old genre
/ref> He moved to

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, ...

to study journalism and photography at

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

. Upon graduation, he received a scholarship from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada.

Career

The Mercan Dede ensemble was founded in 1997, by which time Ilıcalı had been working as a musician for some years. Their first album was ''Sufi Dreams'', released in 1998. This album got a boost when the music was used in a German television documentary on

Sufi music Sufi music refers to the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Qawwali is the best-known form of Sufi music and is most commonly found in the ...

. In 2001, Dede released his third album, ''Seyahatname''. The record includes the sound of the

, a Middle Eastern end-blown flute. Dede describes the sound of this instrument as "a pure, universal spiritual sound evoking deep feelings, deeper than we can comprehend in just our short time on earth. The ney speaks the language of love, instantly comprehensible in the heart, compared to which all the mosques, churches, and temples built to decorate (our spirituality) drift away". The album is Dede's personal effort to reflect on his own spiritual journey. Dede's 2002 album, ''Nâr'', continued in the same vein. In 2004, he released ''Su'', which stayed at number one on European World Music Charts for two months. The album was recorded with an international lineup of musicians and has more vocals on it than the previous works. One track, featuring folk singer Sabahat Akkiraz, was particularly popular in Turkey. Dede made his U.S. debut at the first Globalfest that year, followed by a North American tour and the release of the album ''Fusion Monster'', under the name Arkin Allen. The artist was commissioned by the Turkish Ministry of Culture as the music director of the Guldestan project to represent Turkish culture and arts all around the globe, working alongside choreographer Beyhan Murphy. The 2007 album ''Nefes'' included Transglobal Underground sitar player Sheema Mukherjee in the lineup. The record includes songs in Turkish, Arabic, and French.

Partial discography

* ''Sufi Dreams'' (1998) * ''Journeys of a Dervish'' (1999) * ''Seyahatname'' (2001) * ''Nar'' (2002) * ''Sufi Traveler'' (2004 – repackaging of ''Seyahatname'' and ''Nar'') * ''Fusion Monster'' (2004) (as DJ Arkin Allen) * ''Su'' (2003) * ''Sufi Traveler'' (2004) * '' Nefes/Breath'' (2007) * ''800'' (2007) * ''Dünya/Earth'' (2013) * ''Mercan Dede Box Set'' (2016, 5 CDs)

Achievements

* The album ''800'' was selected as Best World Music Album of 2008 by

WOMEX WOMEX (short for Worldwide Music Expo) is an international world music support and development project based in Berlin, whose main event is an exposition held annually in different locations throughout Europe. It integrates a trade fair, showca ...

. * Dede has been nominated by BBC 3 Awards for World Music in the Middle East and North Africa category twice and three times in the Club Global category. * Featured in Fatih Akin's documentary '' Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul''. * Composer of some music for the 2003 dance piece ''Nefés'' by German choreographer

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mov ...

References

External links