Süeda Sings Sezen Aksu

Sezen Aksu: an unconventional contemporary female public figure in Turkey, for half a century she commented with her songs on the evolution of society, reflecting its changes and innovating its popular music. Composer and lyricist, she’s penned tunes beloved by generations of listeners, and still relevant today.

Süeda Çatakoğlu (b1997), student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, US, was accompanied by Sezen’s songs in her long travels across Turkey first, then Europe and now to the US. She started to sing them live, as part of her act, then developed the idea into a full-fledged tribute album. Her own spare arrangements set off the colours of her voice against a rotating background band involving some Turkish musicians and some colleagues at Berklee. She treats the songs with creativity and empathy, from the sentimental to the sarcastic and even gloriously celebratory, not trying to imitate the original delivery, accompanying herself on piano in a contemporary idiom that never loses the melodic flow. Sinan Cem Eroğlu’s contributions on fretless guitar are always appropriate. A special highlight is ‘Dansöz Dünya’ which gets a stunning India-themed reworking that finds new meanings in its lyrics and music.