Here is a short set I put together for pre or after dinner drinks. The songs in the set are the ones I have been listening to a lot lately. Hope you’ll enjoy.
Archive for the Music Category
SoundCloud – Ianeq
Posted in Music on November 4, 2009 by SinanIaneq is a Swiss electronica-focused DJ/producer, highly influenced by hip hop. As I found out, he has played in numerous clubs from Paris to London and set up his own studio, Square Meal, in 2001. He is based in Berlin and has been working on his Quarion debut album. I first became aware of his mixes on SoundCloud. I am big fan of deep vocal house and Ianeq’s Quarion is mainly focused on that. Given that some of his stuff is too heavy for me, here is my most favorite from his tracks:
Istanbul at Night – Sinan Bastas
Posted in Music on October 29, 2009 by Sinan
It was time I compiled a mix of Turkish dance songs. Some are remixes and there are a few foreign beats tied in between. Notable singers from the line up are Mustafa Sandal, Ajda Pekkan and Serdar Ortac. Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.
Deep Lounge, Volume 1 – Sinan Bastas
Posted in Music on October 27, 2009 by Sinan
Changed course to compile a set suitable for late-night cocktails and socializing. Inspiration could almost be the dark, candlelit Buddha Bar lounge in Paris, located on the mezzanine floor of the restaurant. It was known to be most popular for after-dinner gatherings, surrounded with loud deep house and exotic cocktails. You might want to get off the chair and dance a little, but the beats lined up in this set will not be enough to push you to the dance floor (at least that was my intention). Be ready for an instrumental deep house session. As always you can download the set to your computer by clicking the arrow sign below info. Hope you’ll enjoy.
The Dinner, Volume 2 – Sinan Bastas
Posted in Music on October 19, 2009 by Sinan
Managed to complete the sequel to my previous Dinner set this weekend. As always slow songs are the worst to work with. There is usually no instrumental entry to them, making it extremely hard to blend one into the other. All aside I think I have done a better job in Volume 2. Hope you’ll enjoy. Keep in mind that you can download the set to your own computer/iTunes/iPod by clicking on the arrow sign located right below “Info”.
SoundCloud – Alex Roque
Posted in Music on October 14, 2009 by SinanDJ/Producer Alex Roque’s remix to Turkish DJ, Huseyin Karadayi and singer, Betul Demir’s “Geri Don”. I think it has great potential, but needs a stronger build up. Could do without the English “get in the floor” refrains. The part after 2 min. is my favorite.
Happy Hour – Sinan Bastas
Posted in Music on October 5, 2009 by Sinan
After a few trials I finally managed to compile a happy hour set. It is a mix of chillout, deep house, new age and pop. Hope you’ll enjoy. You can download the mix to your computer by clicking the arrow sign right blow “info”.
The Dinner – Sinan Bastas
Posted in Music on September 22, 2009 by Sinan
Thanks to my good friend Olivier, I finally have the DJ gear necessary to create my own sets. Altough the advanced computer programs make it so easy to put it all together, it still takes a lot of time and listening to create a good line up. Here is a set I created for dinner time. It can be downloaded to your computer by just clicking the arrow sign right blow “Info” on the play box. Hope you’ll enjoy it.
SoundCloud – Good Times
Posted in Music on September 15, 2009 by SinanCaught this one today. Good Times (Those Memories) by Paul Mojito Satchell. Really nice beat. Give it a try:
The Truth about Turkish Songs
Posted in Debates, Ideas, etc., Music on August 27, 2009 by Sinan
80% of the Turkish songs are plain sad and at least 70% are based on love. Even if the lyrics are full of happy and energetic words the singer somehow finds a way to turn everything around. The voice is lowered and the time taken to pronounce each word is maximized. The singer is longing for something unreachable. There is no exit and hope. 5 minutes of misery and pain.
You can tell how a Turkish song will turn out from the first 2 seconds. If there is an active beat or voice making the introduction, you should be ready to dance and feel really pumped up. Otherwise you have to prepared to revisit all your previous heartbreaks, longings and mistakes.
The answer to this generic blue theme in most of the Turkish songs could be hidden in our culture. Our mystical approach to love, the regularity of long-distance relationships, the importance of family approval in dating and marriage, the presence of god in being saved from love pain, the flirtatious nature of Mediterranean men mixed with the Ottoman obsession of possession and the orientalist and extremely emotional Turkish women are all ingredients in the songs we have been listening to. Below is an example from Niran Unsal’s new album. The song’s name is “Aklim hep sende” (“I am always thinking of you”) sang together with Ozcan Deniz.
Sana birsey olur diye aklim hep sende (I am constantly thinking of you thinking something will happen to you)
Ruyalarin bile benim goz hapsimde (Even your dreams are under my surveillance)
Senle yanan yurek usumezmis omrunce (The heart that burns for you will never grow cold)
Benim obur yanim bedelsin sen herseye (My other half you are worth everything)
Bensiz gunlerini sen unut artik (Forget about your days before me)
The truth is that our language and singers as a couple are just too good in blue. They capture our vulnerabilities right at the core, decorating them with multiple instruments and giving us all the reasons to listen to them whenever we are in need to interpret our emotions. No matter what, all such songs should still have cautions on their album covers: “Not recommended to be listened to when alone”, “In order to avoid misery please skip songs 2, 4 and 6″ and even “Could cause desire to commit suicide if listened to repeatedly within a 2-hour frame”.
