Category: Music

Music
Pop star Işın Karaca returns to her roots with a concert in London

  A Turkish pop diva is set to return to the city where her musical dreams started. Işın Karaca, who is celebrating two decades in show business this year, will make her debut appearance in London when she sings at Indigo at The O2 in May. Blessed with a powerful, soulful voice, Işın’s repertoire spans […]

Music
Counting down for Duman live at the O2 Academy Islington

  In ten days’ time seminal Turkish rock band Duman will take to the stage in London to perform a selection of their greatest hits. Duman rocked the O2 Academy Islington with a sellout gig back in January 2016 for. They return with a slightly different line-up, as Mehmet Demirdelen takes over on drums. Alongside him […]

HP Culture
Rocker Hakan Tuna releases cover of 70s classic Sevdiğim

  Hakan Tuna’s new single Sevdiğim is out today. A mid-tempo track, it carries the London musician’s signature sound: a nostalgic nod to classic Anatolian Rock, with psychedelic pop keys and indie guitar rhythms that are very much rooted in the present day. Sevdiğim [Whom I Love] was written in 1976 by Özer Şenay, a […]

HP Reviews
Music review: Çiğdem Aslan – A Thousand Cranes

After her critically-acclaimed 2013 debut release Mortissa¸ Çiğdem returns with an inspired follow-up. Her musical cue is again Rebetiko – the shared cultural heritage of Turkey and Greece in the 1920s – but Çiğdem spreads her musical wings in A Thousand Cranes, travelling from Istanbul and Izmir to Greece, the Balkans, and eastern Turkey picking […]

Culture
Turkish Cypriots mourn loss of trailblazer Kamran Aziz

Kamran Aziz, one of the most significant Turkish Cypriot personalities of the past century, has died aged 95. She had been unwell for some time, receiving treatment at Lefkoşa Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu Hospita and was discharged yesterday. She passed away at her home in the early hours of this morning. Kamran Hanım was a lady of many […]

HP Culture
Olcay Bayır launches PledgeMusic campaign

London-based singer Olcay Bayır has launched a crowdfunding campaign on international music platform PledgeMusic to raise funds to record her second album Rüya [‘Dream’]. PledgeMusic, which was used in 2016 by Robbie Williams to release his album The Heavy Entertainment Show, allows music fans to support artists by pledging to buy new albums and other […]

Music
Olcay Bayir (Anatolia), Dzambo Agusevi Orchestra (Balkans) & Mamak Khadem (Iran) – where musical crossroads meet

If you love Middle Eastern and Gypsy beats, get yourself down to The Forge in Camden for the last night of February. This intimate live music space will be hosting Olcay Bayır, Dzambo Agusevi Orchestra, and Mamak Khadem, between them representing the rich musical cultures of Anatolia, the Balkans and Iran. In the competitive world of […]

Community
Playing for peace: Umut Albayrak and Koulis Theodorou live in Palmers Green

Two of Cyprus’ best known contemporary artists, Umut Albayrak and Koulis Albayrak, will be performing in North London next week. The concert will feature popular folk songs in Greek and Turkish, celebrating the shared culture of the small Eastern Mediterranean island. Both Albayrak and Albayrak are committed peace activists, who recently sang together in support […]