Çiğdem Aslan

Istanbul-born singer Çiğdem Aslan (pronounced Cheedem) brings an authentic voice and exquisite styling to the poignant songs associated with the Greek and Turkish diasporas  which were created after the forced population exchanges between the two countries in the early 1920s.  Born out of hardship yet full of resilience and with a devil-may-care attitude, these are the ‘Blues of the Mediterranean’, Çiğdem Aslan brings this to life in song, Accompanied by Pavlos Melas (guitar & vocals), Pavlos Carvalho (bouzouki) and Cahit Baylav (violin).

 The programme consists of rebetiko (also called rembetiko) songs by musicians from Smyrna /Izmir and Istanbul /Constantinople such as Papazoglu, Hatzichrostos and Skarvelis, as well as anonymous folk songs with origins in western Anatolia.  Other centres of rebetiko were the port of Piraeus and Athens where the Greeks from Asia Minor settled in often squalid conditions. The songs reflected themes such as poverty, exile, violence, drugs and prostitution, as well as love, matchmaking, work and everyday chores and small delights.

In 1936 Greek dictator Metaxas banned rebetiko for its association with the underworld and for being tainted with Orientalism. Atatürk also banned it for similar reasons in his efforts to westernise the new Turkish Republic.  Like all banned music, rebetiko could of course not be stamped out and following a 1960s revival, today's renewed interest is bringing this unique music and its political and social context to a new generation. The group go back to the roots of this music, with simple arrangements and interpretations rather than the popular forms of rembetiko that later developed in Greece.

Born into a musical family, while studying English Literature at Istanbul University Çiğdem Aslan studied and performed rebetiko, Sephardic, Kurdish and other music from Turkey's many ethnic groups with the university music ensemble. She moved to London in 2003 and is currently studying music at Goldsmith’s University. Her unique vocal range - there are few who can sing so authentically in as many languages and styles of the region - has made her an in-demand singer in London with groups such as Dunav, the SOAS Rembetiko Band and the She'Koyokh Klezmer Ensemble.  

Cigdem has recently performed in a live session on BBC Radio 3's World On 3 and as support for Yasmin Levy in the Cadogan Hall, as well as touring in Poland with a programme of Sephardic and Ottoman classical music.  
 
“On stage Aslan is a fresh, natural and relaxed performer with a beautiful voice. Her facility to slip from Greek to Turkish and several other languages is a real asset”.  Simon Broughton, Songlines