Folk it Mediterranean focuses on the musical riches of the Mediterranee
The music in this episode has a hint of the Arabian as well as the Dutch. Singer guitarist, saz player and composer Göksel Yilmaz was born in The Netherlands from Turkish-Arab parents. He spent his childhood in Antakya in the South of Turkey on the Mediterranean coast, where he spoke Arab and also learned Turkish. He was brought up with these two cultures but the Dutch culture also gets added.
After secondary school, he returned to The Netherlands to study classical guitar in Enschede. His first band, Anadolu Ezgisi, started here. The Göksel Yilmaz ensemble followed after a decade, with whom he recorded two albums. The album Gezgin (de Reiziger – 2011) sheds some light on his personal journey – finding who you are, where you’re from and where your roots lie. Its successor, Kan Zaman (Er was eens een tijd – 2016) goes back to his youth, to the Arabic songs he heard which kept on singing in his head, and to songs from singing relatives he found on old cassettes.
After a decade without an album, his most personal one is released this summer: Geboortegrond (Native Soil). The search for where your home is gets fully embraced in the songs. Rooted in the Turkish-arabic culture, but also soaked up Dutch culture: where do I belong and what is my language, where do I stand, where do I come from, where do I want to be. Questions, desire, hope … Geboortegrond has a rare quality, an emotional, sincere and honest album filled with the well-known accessible and charming music from Göksel Yilmaz. Premiering here at the Concertzender.
More about this album and an interview with Göksel Yilmaz here
Playlist
Göksel Yılmaz Ensemble – Gezgin (released independently)
- Mahsus Mahal (trad) 4:33
- Gezgin (Göksel Yilmaz) 5:46
Göksel Yilmaz Ensemble – Kan Zaman (GYE16-001)
- Akıl Hastanesine (Philemon Wehbe) 4:17
- Balleyl ya Ayni (tad) 4:33
- Kan Ezzaman (Rahbani brothers) 2:42
- Ya Ayn moulayiteyn (trad) 4:52
Göksel Yilmaz – Geboortegrond (released independently)
- Ilham (Göksel Yilmaz) 4:37
- Geboortegrond (Göksel Yilmaz) 6:41
- Bir Türkü Daha (Göksel Yilmaz, A. Kadir) 4:44
- Ontworteld (Göksel Yilmaz, Baas B) 2:50
- Moederland (Göksel Yilmaz, Baas B) 3:13
- Blijf (Göksel Yilmaz) 5:09
- Dönen Dönsün (Göksel Yilmaz, Pir Sultan Abdal) 3:40