Bülent Ortaçgil (born 1 March 1950) is a Turkish composer and singer.

Biography

He was born in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in 1950. He moved to

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 ...

after starting elementary school which he finished at Sultanahmet Elementary School in Istanbul. He completed his middle school and high school education at

Kadıköy Anadolu Lisesi Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

which is also commonly known as Kadıköy Maarif College. He graduated from the

University of Istanbul Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, it was reformed as the fi ...

, Faculty of Chemistry.

Musical career

He started playing guitar while at Kadıköy Maarif Koleji. Another popular composer and singer Mazhar Alanson (from the band

MFÖ Mazhar Fuat Özkan (MFÖ) was a Turkish pop and rock band consisted of members Mazhar Alanson, Fuat Güner, and Özkan Uğur. While many of their songs poke fun at common Turkish types ("Ali Desidero", "Piskopatım") or satirise prejudice and ...

) was concurrently a student at the same school, and says that Ortaçgil was a guitar player that he admired back in school. He played with some groups, including ''Damlalar'' (Drops). His music has been influenced by various artists, including

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. His first long play was called "Anlamsız" (Meaningless), which he published while in college. In 1974, his first album was released under the title "Benimle Oynar Mısın?" (Will You Play with Me?), considered to be a classic.

Onno Tunç Ohannes Tunçboyacıyan, better known as Onno Tunç (20 December 1948 – 14 January 1996), was a leading Turkish musician of Armenian descent, working mainly as a composer, arranger and a music producer. Tunç also played bass guitar and occasi ...

and Ergun Pekcan were among those who helped the recording and mastering of his albums. He took a ten-year break from music after he got married. During this time, he worked as a

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

at companies like

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

and Netaş Telecom. During 1985, Ortaçgil played with

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 ...

at "Çekirdek Müzikevi"; this performance yielded to a non-published copy album "Bizim Şarkılarımız …". The album "Pencere Önü Çiçeği" (Windowsill Flower) was published in 1986. The song ''Pencere Önü Çiçeği'' was another classic, criticizing an intellectual, isolated life against a life "outside the window." In 1991 came the album called "Oyuna Devam" (Let the game continue). The album gathered some of his old band friends such as Erkan Oğur, Cem Aksel and Gürol Ağırbaş, who had been playing together for over 10 years. In 2000, a tribute album called "Şarkılar bir Oyundur" (Songs Are a Game) was published, featuring performances from 22 different Turkish singers and bands, spanning a wide genre of music among them. He frequently uses the theme "game"/"play" in his songs. Bulent ortacgil

Discography

Singles

* 1971: Anlamsız / Yüzünü Dökme Küçük Kız * 1974: Olmalı mı, Olmamalı mı? / Şık Latife

Studio albums

* 1974: ''Benimle Oynar Mısın?'' * 1990: ''2. Perde'' * 1991: ''Oyuna Devam'' * 1994: ''Bu Şarkılar Adam Olmaz'' * 1998: ''Light'' * 2003: ''Gece Yalanları'' * 2010: ''Sen'' * 2022: ''Elli Buçuk''

Other albums

* 1976: ''3 Masal'' (Masal album) * 1984: ''Rüzgara Söylenen Şarkılar'' (live album) * 1985: ''Biz Şarkılarımızı..'' (recorded live with Fikret Kızılok) * 1986: ''Pencere Önü Çiçeği'' (with Fikret Kızılok) * 1999: ''Eski Defterler'' (Contains new versions of his earlier works) * 2007: ''Teoman-Bülent Ortaçgil Konser'' (live with Teoman) * 2007: ''Büyükler İçin Çocuk Şarkıları'' (recorded with Fikret Kızılok in 1987 and released 20 years later) * 2017: ''Senfonik Ortaçgil'' (Concert DVD)

Notes

External links

Bülent Ortaçgil
on Facebook

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortacgil, Bulent 1950 births Musicians from Ankara Living people Turkish singer-songwriters Kadıköy Anadolu Lisesi alumni