Arts Canteen presents Anatolian songbird Olcay Bayir, releasing her debut album Neva/Harmony on Riverboat Records in October. To celebrate the release, she will perform at The Vortex on Wednesday 5th November 2014
Or if you prefer, Arts Canteen Olcay Bayir’in Riverboat Records tarafindan Ekim’de cikarilacak ilk albumu Neva/Harmony ‘i sunar . Album Vortex Jazz Club ’ta verilecek bir konserle muzikseverlere tanitilacak.
Bayir’s songs unfold ancient stories of Anatolian love and mystery. Of Turkish-Kurd origin, Olcay lives in London and is a classically trained soprano with a velveteen voice like no other. On her stunning debut album, her Western training collides perfectly with her passion for the rich musical heritage of her Anatolian homeland, allowing her to craft intricate and unusual melodic phrases, distinct harmonies and captivating, richly-layered textures. Throughout much of the album Olcay sings in high tessitura, sliding across complex ornamented figures with a deft, natural-sounding ease.
Carrying enchanting musical heritage of Anatolian cultures, Olcay Bayir sings her own contemporary compositions to original arrangements of traditional folk songs spread across the region of the Mediterranean, Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Olcay sings a rich tapestry of the traditional folk songs of minorities and different cultures which exist in Anatolia.
Olcay was born in Antep, Turkey, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The very streets on which she began to hum and sing as a carefree young girl were once where ancient traders from the East and West met to barter and bargain. Of course, these historic businessmen not only exchanged luxurious silks and sturdy camels but also songs, instruments and cultures. Many of the songs on Neva/Harmony are hundreds of years old, the earliest possibly dating back to the seventeenth century.