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| Mercan Dede | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mercan Dede |
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Arkın Ilıcalı |
| Birth date | 1966 |
| Birth place | Ankara, Turkey |
| Genres | World music, Sufi, electronic, ambient |
| Occupations | Composer, musician, DJ |
| Instruments | Ney, oud, electronic instruments, saz |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Labels | Jeton, Sony, Atlantic, EMI |
Mercan Dede is a Turkish-Canadian composer, ney player, DJ and sound artist known for blending traditional Sufi music with contemporary electronic sounds. He rose to international prominence by combining the ney, oud and Turkish classical forms with ambient, techno and world music contexts, performing at major festivals and collaborating with artists across Europe, North America and Asia. His work bridges contexts such as Turkish classical music, Mevlevi Sufi heritage and contemporary electronic scenes, leading to recordings, installations and film scores.
Born Arkın Ilıcalı in Ankara, Dede studied at institutions in Turkey before relocating to Canada, where he pursued higher education and artistic practice. He trained in traditional Turkish music under masters associated with the Turkish Classical Music tradition and received exposure to the repertoire of the Mevlevi order and the poetry of Rumi, Yunus Emre and Hafez. His move brought contact with communities linked to Istanbul, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, and introduced him to electronic music scenes connected to studios in Berlin, London and New York.
Dede's professional trajectory includes residencies, concert tours and releases on labels that connect to world music markets in Europe and North America. He performed at venues associated with the Edinburgh Festival, WOMAD, Montreux Jazz Festival and Royal Albert Hall, and recorded albums with labels such as Sony and Atlantic that circulated through distributors in Paris, Istanbul and Toronto. His concerts often feature ensembles combining ney players, daf percussionists and electronic programmers drawn from Istanbul conservatories, Montreal collectives and London studios, while his sound installations have been exhibited in venues associated with documenta, Venice Biennale and ICA London.
Dede's style synthesizes elements from Ottoman classical music, Anatolian folk, Mevlevi Sufi chanting, Persian classical modes and electronic ambient. He draws on modal systems like makam and dastgah and improvisational practices such as taksim and vocal tahrir, integrating influences from composers and performers including Said Nursî-related hymnody, the poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi, the recordings of Munir Nurettin Selcuk, the ney traditions exemplified by Niyazi Sayin and Ulvi Erguner, and contemporary producers from Berlin techno and Detroit techno scenes. His sound reflects intersections with artists and movements such as Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Anouar Brahem, Kronos Quartet and DJ culture in Montreal and Amsterdam.
Dede's discography includes studio albums, live recordings and collaborative projects released from the 1990s onward. Notable albums feature titles distributed by labels with presence in Istanbul, London and New York and have been reviewed in outlets covering world music festivals and radio programs in BBC, NPR and Radio France. His catalog spans collaborations with orchestras, chamber ensembles and electronic producers, and includes soundtrack contributions for films premiered at festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Toronto International Film Festival.
Dede has collaborated with a wide array of musicians, choreographers and visual artists from multiple regions. Collaborators have included classical ensembles like the Kronos Quartet, jazz musicians associated with ECM Records, dancers from the Martha Graham Company and choreographers connected to Pina Bausch lineage, as well as electronic producers from Berlin, London and Montreal. He has contributed music to films directed by auteurs screened at Cannes and Sundance, and participated in interdisciplinary projects with institutions such as the British Museum, Istanbul Biennial and UNESCO-associated cultural programs.
Dede's work has earned recognition from organizations and festivals across Europe and North America. He has received prizes and nominations from entities connected to world music charts, cultural ministries in Turkey and Canada, and arts councils in Quebec and Ontario. Festivals such as WOMAD, Montreux and Edinburgh have presented him with performance honours, while radio and print critics in outlets like BBC World Service, Le Monde and The New York Times have highlighted his recordings. Cultural institutions in Istanbul and Montreal have included his music in retrospective programs and archives.
Dede maintains ties to Sufi traditions and poetic lineages, often citing the influence of Rumi, Yunus Emre and Hafez in interviews and program notes. He lives and works between Istanbul and Montreal, balancing concert tours, studio work and installations. His public comments reflect interests in intercultural dialogue, spiritual expression through music and the preservation of Anatolian repertoires, and he has engaged with academic institutions linked to ethnomusicology departments in Toronto, Oxford and Istanbul for lectures and workshops.
Ankara Canada Istanbul Montreal Toronto London Berlin Paris New York City Edinburgh Festival WOMAD Montreux Jazz Festival Royal Albert Hall Venice Biennale documenta British Museum UNESCO Cannes Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival Sundance Film Festival BBC NPR Radio France Le Monde The New York Times Kronos Quartet Brian Eno Peter Gabriel Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Anouar Brahem Martha Graham Pina Bausch ECM Records Sony Music Atlantic Records EMI Jeton Records Mevlevi Order Jalaluddin Rumi Yunus Emre Hafez Munir Nurettin Selcuk Niyazi Sayin Ulvi Erguner Said Nursî makam dastgah taksim tahrir Detroit techno Berlin techno Montreal DJ scene Istanbul Conservatory Quebec Arts Council Ontario Arts Council Anatolian folk music Ottoman classical music ethnomusicology sound art world music soundtrack chamber music percussion oud ney saz daf electronic music ambient music
Category:Turkish musicians Category:World music artists