Yavuz Hilmi Çetin (25 September 1970 – 15 August 2001) was a Turkish musician, singer, and songwriter in the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...

genres. He gained renown in his native country for the skill and sensitivity of his guitar performances. Following his suicide at the age of 30, before the release of his highly praised album, ''Satılık'' '' or Sale', Çetin achieved a near-iconic posthumous status as a talent lost on the brink of great achievement. Also, he is one of the most known Anatolian blues singers.

Musical training

Born in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

port of

Samsun Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

, Turkey's 15th largest city and capital of

Samsun Province Samsun Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 9,725 km2, and its population is 1,368,488 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are Sinop on the northwest, Çorum on the west, Amasy ...

, Yavuz Çetin spent his early school years traveling through the country's various regions, as his father, journalist Erdal Çetin, responded to the demands inherent in the profession. In 1984, at the age of 14, the adolescent music enthusiast was already taking blues and rock guitar lessons from guitarist Ahmet Kanneci and, the following year, started learning to master the acoustic guitar and, subsequently, the

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

. Before graduating from

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 ...

Haydarpaşa Haydarpaşa is a locality within the Kadıköy and Üsküdar districts on the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey. Haydarpaşa is named after Ottoman Vizier Haydar Pasha. The place, on the coast of Sea of Marmara, borders to Harem in the northwest and ...

High School, he and classmate Ercan Saatçi who, in later years, became a noted musician as well as sports journalist, entered ''HEY'' magazine's music competition and their song, "I Will Cry", became the winning entry. In 1988, continuing his quest in Istanbul for higher education and advanced musical training, Çetin began studies at

Marmara University Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...

's Music Department while earning an income as a musical performer in clubs such as Beyaz Ev hite Housein the port town of

Bodrum Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...

, where he played in 1989–90. In 1991, upon turning 21, he formed, with young musical colleagues Batu Mutlugil, Kerim Çaplı (Kim Capli) and Sunay Özgür, the musical group, Blue Blues Band. Having married in 1992, Yavuz Çetin and wife Didem filed for divorce four years later. In that year, 1996, and for the remaining four years of his life, he was also a guitarist at the numerous concerts played by the noted band Mazhar-Fuat-Özkan. He collaborated, as well, on various albums with artists such as Teoman, Kıraç,

Sibel Tüzün Ayşe Sibel Tüzün (born 29 September 1971) is a Turkish singer, songwriter and composer. Life and career Sibel began her musical education at the TRT Istanbul Children's Choir. During her secondary school years she joined the ''Youth Choi ...

Soner Arıca Soner Arıca (born 5 February 1966) is a Turkish people, Turkish singer and record producer. Biography He was born as the youngest of seven children in the Fatsa district of Ordu Province, Turkey. Later, he moved to Istanbul and studied in Şiş ...

, Göksel, Deniz Arcak and Acil Servis. In Göksel's hit song "Sabır", he became the first Turkish guitar player to use a

talk box A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the so ...

. Of particular note is his solo on Deniz Arcak's "Bırakın Beni" from the ''Kıpır Kıpır'' album which, in an illustration of his mastery of the rock and blues guitar tradition, was recorded on the first take after only a couple of rehearsals. It also became the last studio session recording in which he participated.

Two albums, ''İlk'' and ''Satılık''

In 1997, Yavuz Çetin issued his first album ''İlk'', produced by his longtime compatriot Ercan Saatçi, but the album was unable to capture the spirit of that moment's public musical mood. He also earned an income from writing numerous advertising jingles, such as a well-remembered

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

spot, and his tune "Dünya" the World" which was chosen as part of the soundtrack for the 1999 film, "

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

", with a score composed and arranged by master guitarist Erkan Oğur. At age 30, after expending months of intense effort writing all of the tracks for his second album, ''Satılık'', and having completed the album's final recording session, Yavuz Çetin committed suicide by leaping from Istanbul's Boğaziçi Bridge which connects Europe and Asia across the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

strait. Posthumous acclaim followed the subsequent release of the album which a number of music reviewers described as a work of genius. With the passage of years, both ''Satılık'' and the previously overlooked ''İlk ve Son...'' have gained a near-cult status as Yavuz Çetin's music and words continue to be heard in the region keeping his legend alive for the listening public.

Discography

''İlk'' (Stop Productions) (1997)

#Erkeğin Olmak İstiyorum (I want to be your man) #Bilmem Neden İnat Ettim (I don't know why I persisted) #Sahil (Coast) #Bodrum Gecesi Yüzünden (Because of the Bodrum Night) #Kimse Bilemez (Nobody can know) #Gecenin Rengi (Colour of the Night) #Ağlamayı Sevmem (I don't like crying) #Çok İstiyorum (I want it so badly) #Onun Şarkısı (Her Song) #Hisset Beni (Feel Me) #Fanki Tonki Zonki (Instrumental) #Dünya (The World)

''Satılık'' (Tmc Müzik) (2001)

#Cherokee #Benimle Uçmak İster misin? (Would you like to fly with me?) #Oyuncak Dünya (Toy World) #Bul Beni (Find Me) #Sadece Senin Olmak (To be only yours) #Yaşamak İstemem (I don't want to live) #Kurtar Beni (Save Me) #Köle (Slave) #İstanbul'a Ait (It belongs to Istanbul) #Herşey Biter (Everything ends)

References

External links

* Karaege, Vefik (2009). Yavuz Çetin biographical and career overview at ''All Music Guide'br>''Yavuz Cetin'e Dair...'' (dead poet for him) Music video at ''DailyMotion'' of Yavuz Çetin's "Yaşamak İstemem" from ''Satılık''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cetin, Yavuz 1970 births 2001 suicides 2001 deaths Haydarpaşa High School alumni People from Samsun Suicides by jumping in Turkey Turkish rock guitarists Blues guitarists Turkish rock singers Turkish male guitarists 20th-century Turkish male singers 20th-century guitarists Anatolian blues Lead guitarists Burials at Anadoluhisarı Cemetery