NEW RELEASE. Çiğdem Aslan. Mortissa

Cigdem Aslan is a rising star in the revival of rebetiko, the bitter-sweet, devil-may-care songs sung in hash dens and 'Café Amans' of Athens and Istanbul from the turbulent times of the 1920s. "MORTISSA" (a strong independent woman) is an album of smyrneika/rebetiko songs in Greek and Turkish and has instantly captured music critics from all over the world. In a flying start the album is Songlines Magazine Album Of The Year 2013 and nominated as Best Album in the fRoots Magazine Critics’ Poll 2013. The album immediately spent 2 months in the Top Ten of the World Music Charts Europe and was selected as one of 5 International Albums You Must Hear on NPR.
Cigdem's live performances are no less winning. With a variable line up to suit the venue featuring at times kanun, guitar, bouzouki, violin, clarinet, Middle Eastern percussion, and double bass, the clear focal point is a voice that has measureless character, charm and emotion, transporting audiences to a café aman music house in the Beyoglu district of 1920s Istanbul, a hash den in Athens during the turbulent 1930s and 40s, or further back to the shared culture of Greek-Turkish communities of Smyrna/Izmir in the1900s.

‘Mortissa’ (a strong independent woman) is an album of smyrneika/rebetiko songs in Greek and Turkish with musical roots in Anatolia. This 'Blues of the Aegean' arose in the turbulent times of the 1920s. Rebetiko was at one time banned by both Greek and Turkish authorities for being socially degenerative. Alongside love songs, one song celebrates the Robin Hood style outlaw Mehmet Efe, another is a cry of a woman longing to escape from her veil, yet another talks of “leeks” as a euphemism for hashish, and in “Sto Kafe Aman” the mortissa tells her suitors to go sling their hook. This is the music of the alternative, the underground scene, the music of freedom-loving people; appropriate for the current situation.

2013 is not the first time that the beautiful city of Istanbul has been in turmoil, like a cursed diamond. Full of meaning for all who have experienced it, it is no surprise that singer ÇiÄŸdem Aslan, who was born to Kurdish Alevi parents in Sisli, not far from Taksim Square, the focus for the pro-democracy protests, has felt concerned and deeply involved, even from a distance. Back in 1955 state-sponsored riots decimated the Greek population of Istanbul. Before that the Turkish republican movement and war of liberation forced Greeks out of the rest of Anatolia.

Although there have been many recordings of rebetiko over the years, ÇiÄŸdem Aslan presents a fresh take, an immigrant herself from her homeland, a person from a minority ethnic group, a female singer in a usually male genre. But above all she brings personality and a voice that communicates deeply, the kind of voice that can help unlock the riches and relevance of this “Blues of the Aegean” to new audiences. Having made her mark singing as front singer of award-winning She’koyokh Klezmer Ensemble in which she has won plaudits for the “clear, natural ease” with which she sings (Songlines Magazine) and her “no-nonsense from the heart passion" (fRoots Magazine), and also having graced the stage at the Royal Albert Hall as opening act for Turkish diva Sezen Aksu and for Yasmin Levy at London’s Cadogan Hall, with this debut album ÇiÄŸdem is ready to take the stage as a star in her own right. 
Sebastian Merrick

Musicians

ÇiÄŸdem Aslan - vocals, She’Koyokh, Nikos Angousis-Doitsidis - clarinet, Matt Bacon - guitar, Nikolaos Baimpas - kanun, santouri, mandolins & mandolas, baglama, chorus, Makis Baklatzis - violin, Cahit Baylav - violin, Pavlos Carvalho - bouzouki, Philippos Demetriou -bells, finger cymbals, spoons, riq, beads, Odysseas Elia - bouzouki, Susi Evans - clarinet, Meg Hamilton - violin, Sevtap Işık - chorus, Vasilis Lemonias - cello, Paul Melas - guitar, vocals, Tahir Palalı - fretless guitar, kopuz, Anatolian baglama, davul, oud, chorus, Vasilis Sarikis -darbuka, finger cymbals, riq, Guy Schalom - darbuka, riq, bendir, Paul Tkachenko - double bass, mandolin

Tracks

1. Aman Katerina Mou (Oh My Katerina) 4:26 / 2. Vale Me Stin Agalia Sou (Take Me In Your Arms) 3:44 / 3. To Dervisaki (Little Dervish) 4:53 / 4. Bir Allah (One God) 3:23 / 5. Pane Gia To Praso (Out For Leek) 2:47 / 6. Trava Vre Manga Kai Alani (Away With You, Manga) 3:29
7. Ferece (Veil) 3:35 / 8. Nenni (Lullaby) 5:20 / 9. Çakıcı 3:50 / 10. Sto Kafe Aman (At The Cafe Aman) 3:14 / 11. UÅŸaklı Kız (Girl from UÅŸak) 4:16 / 12. Kanarini (Canary) 4:28 / 13. S’agapo 
(I Love You) 5:16

All tracks published by Asphalt Tango Records GmbH except track 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Total playing time 52:56

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www.asphalt-tango.de/records/aslan/cigdem_aslan_mortissa.html

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