„Gültekin Kaan & diVan“ combine Anglo-American pop culture with elements of Turkish art and folk music. The texts are in Turkish and tell in a flowery, poetic language and metaphor-rich stories that could have emerged from tales of Arabian Nights, always having a reference to the present day. The band place high values on visual appearance. There is a Sultan onstage together with his court, his grand viziers, pashas, emirs and bodyguard, dressed in the robes of the East. His harem is also part of the show, together with belly dancers – nothing to miss.
After enriching the European stage scenery for nearly 15 years, Gültekin KAAN released his first solo album together with his band “diVan”. On May 3rd, 2011 “1001 Divan“ was released by We Play/Sony in Turkey.
This year, Blue Flame Records is releasing his latest album „Sofra“, which is distributed by Rough Trade.
Of the twelve songs on the album, ten are written by Gültekin KAAN. The other two songs are traditional songs for which Kaan wrote new lyrics.
In addition to the usual rock instruments guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, the oriental sound worlds of the baglama (Turkish long-necked lute), cümbüş (Turkish fretless banjo), kanun (Middle Eastern zither), keman (Oriental Violin) and the oriental percussion instruments darbuka, bendix, kasik, djembe, tabla and davul are mixed together.
The album was recorded in Germany by elite musicians of the German scene. The musicians have worked with top acts such as, Xavier Naidoo, Curse, Gentleman, Nicole, Doug Wimbish, Smudo, Mike Stern, and many more. They were so enthusiastic about Kaan’s music, that they became his regular band.
The musicians who worked in Turkey on the album are also very well known. They have worked with famous Turkish acts, such as Sezen Aksu, Erkan Ogur, Ibrahim Tatlises, Dolapdere Big Gang and other stars of the Turkish music scene.
Rock music unites with magical melodies of the Orient to something exciting, something spectacular, something new. Open the Golden Gates of the Sultan’s palace, as you step through doorway of bliss and discover a new dimension of music.
Orient and Occident melt together.