Turkey's Dede retires from music

By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul

Mercan Dede has been feted at music awards ceremonies

World-renowned Turkish musician and DJ Mercan Dede has announced his retirement from the music business.

His new album, due out in October, will be his last, following 15 years of recording music.

"I used to say whenever I start a concert and feel excitement like the first day, I'll keep on doing it," explains Dede during a break at a studio in Istanbul where he is working on the final release.

"I do still have that energy, but I've been doing this a long time and I think it's important to stop and look at what we did.

"The past 15 years was beyond my dreams. [But] it's like a painter who focuses only on where the brush touches the canvas. Sometimes you need to step back and look at the whole."

Unique blend

Born into a poor family in western Turkey as Arkin Ilicali, Dede now divides his time between Istanbul and Montreal.

He first travelled to Canada to study visual arts and developed a following there as DJ Arkin Allen before creating Mercan Dede more than a decade ago.

Now could be a good time maybe to go back to visual arts, to freshen up and decide what could be next - I always like to be a cook or a gardener Mercan Dede

His music is an unique blend of traditional Turkish instruments and electronic sounds - one he is reluctant to categorise.

Now central to his work, Mercan Dede first heard the ney - or reed flute - when he was a child. Enchanted, he carved his own from a piece of plastic piping and taught himself the basics.

Through the music, he was introduced to Sufism and the teachings of Rumi - the 13th Century poet and mystic whose Mevlevi order is now most famous in the West for its Whirling Dervishes.

This week marks 800 years since Rumi's birth, and Mercan Dede has just named his new album 800 after the man whose teachings are a powerful influence on his music and his life.

"My last albums were Fire, Water and Wind. People were expecting Earth. But when I started it did not feel right. It did not belong to my heart," he says.

Dede, a regular nominee at the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, confesses that he is very excited by what he has created instead.

'Craziness'

"It's a bit crazy actually, the most crazy I ever did. One song has 140 channels. The edit was quite painful," explains the musician.

"But my priority is to do something different. To find a language that represents where you are in your life. So this album represents the craziness of the past couple of years. Good or bad - it is me."

The news that 800 will be the last album from Mercan Dede has shocked his fans.

"It's very sad. We're losing something unique," says Mehmet Tez, editor of Rolling Stone Turkey music magazine.

"Musically, Turkey hardly exists on the international stage. But Mercan Dede has helped link us to the world. We're proud of that."

Dede's music has been inspired by aspects of Sufism

Steve Bryant, a British Dede fan who lives in Turkey, says: "What he does is admired by everyone from DJs to jazz artists. It doesn't always quite work, but it's always new and different.

"His retirement will also be a loss for the idea that Turkish Islamic music has its place in the global music scene. But I'd be surprised if this is the last we hear of him."

Dede is certainly not planning to disappear from public view altogether.

"We'll see what type of vibe the new album creates and that will lead to what the next move will be," he smiles.

"It's been an incredible journey. But I feel now could be a good time maybe to go back to visual arts, to freshen up and decide what could be next.

"I always like to be a cook or a gardener. I think that's wonderful. We'll see."