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BURHAN ÖÇAL - BURHAN ÖÇAL'S NEW ALBUM " TRAKYA ALL STARS" FEATURING SMADJ RELEASED - 16.07.2003
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Wishing to pay tribute to the musical heritage of his birthplace Kırklareli, master percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Burhan Öçal comes back home for the “most personal” project of his life. To transform local traditional musical styles into modern ones with the help of digital technologies and to present them to the world through superb performances by master musicians.
Burhan aimed to include all his early influences in this project. He wandered through most of the musician cafes in Trakya (Thrace) and showed up at many local celebrations with the intention to form an orchestra made up of unknown musicians who were true masters of their instruments. The double davul (local drum) and zurna (a reed instrument somehat resembling an oboe) combination of Kırklareli was complemented by the “ince saz” of Trakya consisting of clarinet, violin, cumbush, kanun and darbuka. The Balkans came in with the trumpet and accordion, which are actually hard-to-find instruments in Turkish music. In the end, he was able to form a band that he could confidently name The Trakya All Stars. All of the musicians involved in this project share a common heritage. Except for Burhan, all are of Gypsy origin and all their ancestors including Burhan’s migrated from Thessaloniki (Salonika) region in northern Greece at the beginning of the 1900’s.
A key aspect of the project is the Tunisian born French musician, sound engineer and producer Smadj, highly respected for his knowledge of oriental music and for his digital innovations. Smadj’s contribution to this album is essential. His programmed beats and arrangements, as well as his recording, mixing and production skills have helped to define the timeless character of this album which manages to take deep tradition to a contemporary level.
Öçal summarizes his responsibility: “The essential core of these traditions has been preserved over the centuries like precious stones. Now we have to take advantage of the limitless possibilities of digital technology to present their true spirit to today’s listeners so that they can continue for generations ahead.”
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