Kalan Müzik or Kalan Music for the West is a Turkish

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

company based in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. It was founded in 1991 by Hasan Saltık. It specializes in releasing Saltık's recordings of classical and traditional ethnic and folk music from Turkey and the surrounding region. It is sometimes listed as Kalan Ses ("Kalan Audio" or "Kalan Sound"). Kalan has annual revenues of $3 million, and has released more than 400 albums. From 1992 to 2002, some of Kalan's output met governmental opposition. In 2003, Saltık's work through Kalan made him a laureate of the international

Prince Claus Awards The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Awar ...

for having "founded a small company to produce recordings of the highest quality which have been the catalyst for the revival of musical traditions and led to their dissemination worldwide hroughestablishing a label which produces unparalleled recordings". Since 2004, the Turkish Culture Ministry hands out Kalan CDs to visiting dignitaries.

Overview

In 1991, Kalan Müzik was founded by Hasan Saltık with $600 in capital. It was named after the pre-1936 name of the town of

Tunceli Tunceli (, , ) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Zaza majority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021. Name During Ottoman times, the settlement was called ''Kalan'' or ''Ma ...

(its founder's birthplace), but also means "Surviving Music" in Turkish. In 2004, it had annual revenues of $3 million.Kalan, op.cit.Turgut, op. cit. Kalan's output started with reissues of old

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

records of late Ottoman music, the legendary voices of Armenian and Greek minority singers, and of old great recordings of rebetika and

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

music, from names such as

Tanburi Cemil Bey Tanburi Cemil Bey (1873, Istanbul – July 28, 1916, Istanbul) was an Ottoman tanbur, Turkish tambur, yaylı tambur, kemençe, and lavta virtuoso and composer, who has greatly contributed to the ''taksim'' (improvisation on a makam/maqam) g ...

, Udi Hrant, Yorgo Bacanos, or tango singer Seyyan Hanım. A majority of Kalan's releases are Saltık's recordings of traditional music from the many communities and minorities in Turkey and neighbouring regions, such as

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

folk songs,

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

chants, Turkish ballads,

Judeo-Spanish Judaeo-Spanish or Judeo-Spanish (autonym , Hebrew script: ), also known as Ladino or Judezmo or Spaniolit, is a Romance language derived from Castilian Old Spanish. Originally spoken in Spain, and then after the Edict of Expulsion spreading ...

tunes, authentic village ceremonial music,

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

melodies from

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, polyphonic Laz music from northeast Turkey,

Zaza Zaza may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Zaza (play), ''Zaza'' (play), written by French playwrights Pierre Berton and Charles Simon * Zaza (1915 film), ''Zaza'' (1915 film), a film directed by Edwin S. Porter * Zaza (1923 film), ''Zaza'' (1 ...

songs from Tunceli, the music of

Pomaks Pomaks (; Macedonian: Помаци ; ) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting Bulgaria, northwestern Turkey, and northeastern Greece. The strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is recognized officially as Bulgarian Muslims by th ...

(Slavonic Muslims originating from

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Alevi Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...

Bektashi Bektashism (, ) is a tariqa, Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the wali, ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The ...

religious songs, and the music of traditional rituals from all parts of the region.PCA, op. cit. However, Kalan also produces and releases contemporary folk or fusion music such as the guitarist Erkan Oğur, the controversial Grup Yorum, the popular Yansımalar, or soundtracks of Turkish films such as ''Neredesin Firuze'' (2004) or ''The Last Ottoman: Yandim Ali (Son Osmanlı: Yandım Ali)'' (2007). , Kalan Müzik had released more than 400 albums.

Reception

Because laws passed after the

1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état (), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by memorandum. During ...

banned songs in minority languages, especially in

(deeming them separatist), Kalan's output has sometimes met governmental opposition. In 1992, a release of

music sent Saltık to court.Esra Özyüre
The Politics of Public Memory in Turkey
/ref> In 2002, his music-publishing license was confiscated after he issued an old folk song that featured the word "

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

", which is taboo in Turkey. It was only a public outcry that eventually led to the sentence being reversed. However, after the 2002 elections and governmental change, a normalization of relations between Kalan and officials led to the point of the Culture Ministry handing out Kalan CDs to visiting dignitaries. In 2003, Saltik's work through Kalan Müzik made him a laureate of

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

's international

on the theme "The survival and innovation of Crafts" for having "played a central role in the rescue, rediscovery and documentation of the cultural diversity of Turkish music". The jury concluded, "Saltik founded a small company to produce recordings of the highest quality which have been the catalyst for the revival of musical traditions and led to their dissemination worldwide. He has conserved and promoted the musical heritage of the area th ugh establishing a label which produces unparalleled recordings."

Artists

Artists issued or reissued primarily by Kalan include: ; Archival reissues of folk/rural artists *

Muharrem Ertaş Muharrem Ertaş (1913 – 3 December 1984) was a Turkish folk music singer and a virtuoso of the traditional Turkish instrument bağlama. He was one of the most important members of the Bozlak genre. Early life He was born in 1913 in the village ...

Âşık Veysel Şatıroğlu An ashik (; ) or ashugh (; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikaye'') or a shorter original composition—with a long-necked ...

* Hacı Taşan ; Archival reissues of urban/art musicians * Safiye Ayla * Yorgo Bacanos *

Sadettin Kaynak Sadettin Kaynak (1895 – 3 February 1961) was a prominent composer of Turkish classical music. Biography Born in Istanbul, he became a hafiz at a young age. He lost his father early in his youth. He completed his music education at the Ist ...

* Udi Hrant *

Zeki Müren Zeki Müren (; 6 December 1931 – 24 September 1996) was a Turkish singer, composer, songwriter, actor and poet. Known by the nicknames "The Sun of Art" and "Pasha", he was one of the prominent figures of Turkish classical music. Due to his co ...

Münir Nurettin Selçuk Münir Nurettin Selçuk (1900 or 1901 – April 27, 1981) was a Turkish classical musician and tenor singer. Biography He was born in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire in 1900 or 1901. His uncle was Grand Vizier of ...

* Şükrü Tunar ; Contemporary urban art musicians in Turkey * İncesaz *

Niyazi Sayın Niyazi Sayın (; born 1927) is a Turkish '' ney'' flautist and music educator. For a long time, he has performed duets with ''tanbur'' lute player Necdet Yaşar. He is regarded as the most important ''ney'' player in Turkish classical music. ...

* Yansımalar *

Necdet Yaşar Necdet Yaşar (; 1930 - October 24, 2017) was a Turkish ''tanbur'' lute player and teacher. A founding member of the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble, he performed throughout the world as a cultural ambassador for Turkey and taught twice a ...

; Contemporary folk music performers * Tolga Çandar * İsmail Hakkı Demircioğlu *

Neşet Ertaş Neşet Ertaş (1938 – 25 September 2012) was a Turkish folk music singer, lyricist, modern ashik and virtuoso of the traditional Turkish instrument the bağlama. His profession in Turkish is known as ''halk ozanı'', which literally means ...

* Erkan Oğur ; Alevi musicians * Dertli Divani * Ulaş Özdemir ; Anatolian ethnic music * Mikail Aslan *

Aynur Doğan Aynur Doğan (born 1 March 1975) is a contemporary Kurds in Turkey, Kurdish singer and musician from Turkey. Career Aynur Doğan was born in Çemişgezek, a small mountain town in Tunceli Province in Turkey and fled to Istanbul in 1992. She st ...

* Kardeş Türküler * Birol Topaloğlu ; Protest and political music * Grup Yorum *

Fikret Kızılok Fikret Kızılok (10 November 1946 – 22 September 2001) was a Turkish rock musician. He was a pioneer of Anatolian rock, a prolific songwriter, impresario, multi-instrumentalist, and an early experimentalist. Due to a heart disease, he died ...

Tülay German Tülay German (born 27 January 1935), also known as Toulaï, is a Turkish people, Turkish singer, currently living in France. She is known for her modern interpretations of Turkish folk music. Early years Tülay German was born in Istanbul in 19 ...

References

; Sources consulted * * * ; Endnotes

External links

Kalan.com (English)
- official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalan Muzik Turkish independent record labels Folk record labels World music record labels Reissue record labels Record labels established in 1991 IFPI members 1991 establishments in Turkey