Wrap your fingers around your wrist …can you feel the beat? The beat of life is your pulse, discover the rhythm within!
“If there is no rhythm, there is no time. If there is no time, then there is nothing.  These words of wisdom were imparted to Ayhan Sicimoglu by an African “Master Drummer” many moons ago. Rhythm, time, harmony, heartbeat, life…You see, a series of unexpected events inextricably linked Sicimoglu to the follies and fancies of rhythm.

Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to you Ayhan Sicimoglu! As an energetic young lad at the Tarsus American High School Sicimoglu gained a reputation for being a solid drummer. With an insatiable thirst for projects that involved rhythm, Ayhan found himself playing with Miguel Serigides in London and famous “White Funk” group “Kokomo”. Following his interlude with White Funk, Sicimoglu returned to Turkey and founded “Ipucu” with Mazhar Fuat Ozkan and penned the song “Heyecanli”.

A sunrise or two later, Sicimoglu got invited to join Toni Esposito, a well known drummer in Italian circles, to play in Rome. Ayhan ended up spending two years living La Dolce Vita while playing at “La Banda del Sole” with Bennatto and Pino Daniele. Music put a spell on Sicimoglu and lured him to New York where he spent 7 years playing on the Latin club circuit and became a radio regular. Fame soon found the rhythm professor and after he joined Johnny Rodrigues’ Senior Workshop, Sicimoglu expanded his latin network, traveled extensively and became a well-known figure in the downtown music scene.

Never letting his travels interfere with his education, Sicimoglu took World Percussion at Boston’s prestigious Berklee School of Music and delved into a seminar called “Explorations in Afro-Cuban Dance and Percussion” at Humboldt College.  Not just talking the talk, Sicimoglu also walks the walk in Istanbul with the “Afro-Cuban Percussion Workshops” he teaches as well as through crowd-pleasing performances with the band Ayhan Sicimoglu & Latin All Stars.

Upon his return to Turkey 5 years ago, Sicimoglu was a guest on Acik Radyo’s “Satmayan Plaklar (Records that Don’t Sell)” show, and with his funny asides and banter he found that he possessed the wit and charisma necessary to be a radio host. Sicimoglu quickly launched his own show, “Latin Lover”, on Acik Radyo, as well as a program called “Latino Time” on Radyo Oxi-gen.

 The title of Ayhan Sicimoglu’s forthcoming album, to be released on Doublemoon this September 2006, sums up the nature of the project.  “Friends&Family” is an album characterized by the collective efforts of guest performers such as Colombian Rodrigo Rodriguez, Cuban trumpet player Amik Abdel Guerra Ling Long; Peruvian Cesar Correa, Turkish jazz and popular musicians such as Fahir Atakoglu, Aydin Esen, Ozkan Ugur, Ugur Yucel, Mirkelam, and one genuine family-member, Ayhan Sicimoglu’s own soprano daughter Ayse Sicimoglu. Famous DJ Cloude Shalle “Excellent Latin Fusion!”