Mercan Dede

Mercan Dede
Dede in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Arkın Ilıcalı
Also known as	DJ Arkin Allen
Born	1966 Bursa,Turkey
Genres	World music
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Ney bendir
Member of	Mercan Dede Ensemble
Website	mercandede

Mercan Dede(bornArkın Ilıcalı,1966), also known asDJ Arkin Allen,is aTurkish-Canadiancomposer,neyandbendirplayer, DJ, and producer. He is aworld musicartist, 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 asSusheela Raman,Azam Ali,Dhafer Youssef,Sheema Mukherjee(Transglobal Underground), andHugh Marsh.

Early life and education

Dede was born to working-class secular parents inBursa.

He moved toIstanbulto study journalism and photography atIstanbul University.Upon graduation, he received a scholarship from theUniversity of Saskatchewanand moved toMontreal,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 wasSufi Dreams,released in 1998. This album got a boost when the music was used in a German television documentary onSufi music.

In 2001, Dede released his third album,Seyahatname.The record includes the sound of theney,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 releasedSu,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 singerSabahat Akkiraz,was particularly popular in Turkey. Dede made his US debut at the first Globalfest that year, followed by a North American tour and the release of the albumFusion 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 choreographerBeyhan Murphy.

The 2007 albumNefesincluded Transglobal Underground sitar playerSheema Mukherjeein 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 ofSeyahatnameandNar)
• 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 album800was selected as Best World Music Album of 2008 byWOMEX.
• 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 documentaryCrossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul.
• Composer of some music for the 2003 dance pieceNefésby German choreographerPina Bausch.

See also

• Music of Turkey

External links

• Official website