Merih AŞKIN
Merih Aşkın is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and vocalist. His first contact with music was his meeting with baglama in Elazığ, where he spent his childhood. The strong relationship he established with this instrument caused him to understand and perform the types of music performed in Anatolia. After many years, he gave his place to the guitar and fretless guitar. Having met Erkan Oğur, the musician has worked with a master musician on fretless guitar and executive music for 3 years. In the same years, he also worked on jazz and Anatolian Music. In 2012, he started his graduate education at ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory Musicology Department. At this school, he studied Jazz Theory and Makam Music with musicians such as Nail Yavuzoğlu. In 2013, his first album "SIRET" was released by KALAN MÜZİK, one of the most important record companies in Turkey. In this album, he had the opportunity to work with very important musicians such as Erkan Oğur, Derya Türkan, Ayşe Tütüncü, Volkan Hürsever, Murat Aydemir, Cenk Erdoğan, Ercüment Orkut. Using a multi-instrument skillfully, the musician realized his childhood dream of combining Anatolian sayings and compilations with jazz harmony and arrangement. He gave concerts at festivals and jazz clubs in Istanbul and various cities with Siret. In 2014, he composed the music for the theater play "Hak" in cooperation with Istanbul "After Six Theater" and Germany "Theatre an der Ruhr", and for 2 years he performed on stage with his instrument and voice in cities such as Istanbul, Cologne, Brussels, Luxembourg. gave performances. In 2015, it was nominated for the Afife Theater Awards in the category of the most successful theater music of the year. In the same years, the musician gave concerts in various cities, primarily in Istanbul, with Ayşe Tütüncü's Duo and Quartet projects, as well as many musicians such as Volkan Hürsever, Turgut Alp Bekoğlu, Mircan Kaya, Hüsnü Arkan, Erkan Oğur, Derya Türkan, Mehmet Akbaş, Cenk Erdoğan He has performed many recording and stage performances as a guitarist, fretless guitarist and arranger. In December 2015, his second album "TERENNÜM", which has a new understanding of melody, rhythm and sound with a fretless guitar, met with the audience again under the label of KALAN MÜZİK. This album, which was evaluated in the world music class, was an extension and explanation of Merih's musical journey and personal world. The musician, who sang 9 instrumental original compositions with fretless guitar and acoustic guitars in this album, also sang an Armenian Folk Lament called "Gulo", which was written about the 1915 tragedy and dedicated to those who could not live where they were born. Important musicians from Jordan such as Ghassan Abu Haltam (clarinet), Derya Türkan (classical kemençe), Volkan Hürsever (double bass), Koray Üsgülen (piano), and Hasan Gözetlik (trumpet and trombone) accompanied him during the Terennüm. In addition, Swedish sound engineer Lars Nilsson, who also works with international companies such as Act, Ecm , created an extraordinary sound by mixing and mastering Terennüm at “Nilento Studios” in Gothenburg. In this album, master actress Tomris İncer, who passed away in October 2016, gave life to a text by Merih called "this is the story of humankind..." with his unique voice. Merih Aşkın, who gave concerts in cities such as Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Albania in 2016, took the stage at the Kosovo Jazz Festival in 2017 with her album "Terennüm". In 2018, he was the music director and arranger of the album "Red Rose" published by UCM as a duo with vocalist Mircan Kaya. In 2019, the arrangement and interpretation of Aşık Mahzuni Şerif's unique work "Bitmez Tükenmez Geceler" was released as a single on the Kalan Music label. In September 2021, Merih Aşkın met with the audience once again with her third solo album "Lovers Doesn't Happen Hile". After the albums ''Siret'' in 2013 and ''Terennüm'' released in 2015, the album released again with the label of Kalan Music, includes ten pieces of various lovers who lived in Anatolia, such as Neşet Ertaş, Aşık Veysel, Mahzuni Şerif, Sadık Miskini, Hasan Kaplani. saying and folk song took place. Merih Aşkın accompanies Kerem Can Aslan in Percussion, Şervan Ayaz in Violin, Caner Malkoç in Clarinet, Ali Saran in Rebab in the album, where all the pieces are arranged and performed by Merih Aşkın in a unique way. Mixing and Mastering processes of the album recorded in Kalan Music Studios were carried out by Zeynel Günbek and Alican Özbuğutu. In another piece in the album, Ali Rıza Albayrak, one of the important and creative musicians of Anatolian Music, was the guest of Merih Aşkın with his voice and saz. Merih Aşkın still continues to perform as composer, arranger and stage-recording.
Workshop Title: Arrangement and Sing/Play-Along Workshop - Instrument Workshops (Aşkın sazı and fretless Guitar)
Description:In the arrangement workshop, studies on the arrangement of a melody or piece, instrumentation techniques and performance will be done. The workshop is open to every instrument and vocalist, the works arranged with the participants during the workshop will be performed together at the end of the workshop. “Instrument Workshops (Love Instrument and Fretless Guitar)” In the instrument workshops, the knowledge and performance techniques of Merih Aşkın's own design, which he uses in various arrangements, including his own albums, will be studied. In addition, Fretless Guitar techniques (intonation, maqam, jazz lick&harmony) will be studied.
in the instrument workshops, knowledge and performance techniques of Merih Aşkın's own design, which he uses in various arrangements, including his own albums, will be studied. In addition, fretless guitar techniques (intonation, maqam, jazz lick & harmony) will be studied. Workshops are open to everyone