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 and

bendir The ''bendir'' ( ar, بندير, plural ''banadir'', ) is a wooden-framed frame drum of North Africa and Southwest Asia. The bendir is a traditional instrument that is played throughout North Africa, as well as in Sufi ceremonies; it was playe ...

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, Azam Ali, Dhafer Youssef,

Sheema Mukherjee Sheema Mukherjee is a British composer and sitar player. She is best known for her work with musical collective Transglobal Underground and The Imagined Village. She is the niece of sitarist Nikhil Banerjee. In 2005, ''Billboard'' referred to he ...

( Transglobal Underground), and Hugh Marsh.

Early life and education

Dede was born to working-class secular parents in Bursa.Breath of life for old genre
/ref> He moved to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

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 State ...

and moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

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

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. * 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 mo ...

References

External links