Barış Manço ‎| Ben Bilirim (1990) (FLAC)

 

I found this compilation cassette, published by Yavuz Asöcal in 1990, in a dusty old record and audio parts store in the Kadıköy neighborhood of İstanbul -- a fitting place to pick up a keepsake by one of Turkey's most beloved rockers, given that my primary goal for the day was to visit his old house (now a museum) in the same neighborhood. 

The cassette highlights Manço's 1970s and 80s psychedelic-tinged work, from the scorching Gönül Dağı, to twisted B-sides like Estergon Kalesi, to the disco-era curiosity Fransızca, which closes out Side 2.

I inadvertently picked up a CD of this very same album, but upon listening, the cassette appears to have just slightly superior sonic quality. Which is not to say that it's ideal. The title track that leads off Side 1 is a bit rough-sounding.

But it's listenable. More importantly, it includes some of the greatest rock music ever captured on tape.

Get it here.

Esengül ‎| Gizli Yaram

[UPDATE: New link in comments]

This remarkable woman was born Ağan Esen in 1954 in Istanbul, began her career working in casinos in Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir, and died in a car accident near Ataköy. 

Whether it really was an accident is up for debate, however; Adil at Uludag Video in Brooklyn, where I picked this delicious cassette up last weekend, assured me that Esengül was rubbed out by the mob. She had, less than three weeks prior, witnessed the owner and a waitress in a casino where she was gigging assassinated.

Esengül was 24 years old. Her voice sounds much, much more seasoned. You can hear a different sent of tracks by her in this week's Bodega Pop Live broadcast, here.

Link to DL in the comments.

What do you think? I'd love to hear from you ...

Bülent Ersoy | Beddua (1980)

Listen to a track from this album on last week's Bodega Pop à la Turk

Grab the whole thing here

Born Bülent Erkoç in 1952 in Istanbul, Bülent Ersoy launched her career in the 1970s, releasing five albums until, just after the release of today's offering--her last recording as a male--she flew off to London for a sex-change operation. When she returned, she found herself banned by the shortsightedly oppressive government. After appealing her case unsuccessfully, she attempted suicide, failed (fortunately!), and left to live in Germany until the Turkish government repealed their earlier discriminatory laws. In the years and decades that followed, she became wildly more popular than she had been in the 1970s while living as a male.

I picked this ridiculously soulful album up at Uludag Video in Brooklyn in 2005 or 2006, but never gave a it good listen until putting together this show last week. I realized then that I'd never shared it with you and, wanting to rectify that, am here today, begging your kind forgiveness.

Cemal Çınarlı | Ud Taksimleri Arşiv, Vol. 1

Get it here.

Bodega Pop will be on the radio soon. Specifically, we'll join WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, the streaming station curated by master DJ and music blog supporter extraordinaire Doug Schulkind. Doug actually asked me if I'd be interested in bringing the bodega to the woof-moo months ago, but for several reasons--including (a) complete ignorance on my part as to what goes into being a DJ and (b) the impending move to my new apartment--I wasn't quite ready to start the show.

I'm still not quite ready, although I've made progress. I've bought a professional microphone, a mixer, and a Byzantine array of cords, jacks, plugs and adapters. All I need now is a Mac computer of some kind. That, dear reader, listener, is where you come in. Over the next few weeks I'll be selling original art, rare CDs and books, and whatever else I can pull together to raise funds for the computer I'll need to stream you and other listeners the goods. More info to come soon.

Meanwhile: My new apartment is no longer a mess, yay. The bad news? That's because more than half of my CDs are in boxes that I've shoved, out of exhaustion, into the closet. That said, I'm finding lots of new stuff--new to you, anyway--to post. 

First up is this lovely example of Turkish taksim, or improvisation, that I found half a decade or so at Uludag Video in south Brooklyn. More--much, much more--to come.

World of Gypsy

Listen to "Abe Kaku"


Listen to "Mondo"

Grab the whole shebang here.

Awesome gypsy music from a label in Istanbul. One of a series of similar albums I picked up at Uludag Video (1922 Avenue W) in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn. If you like, let me know and I'll upload the others. (They're not all gypsy, fwiw.)

Altin Mikrofon | 1965, 1966 & 1967-68

I found this incredible, legendary series at Uludag Video (1922 Avenue W, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn) in 2008 or so, a few years before they stopped importing CDs ("We can make no money doing it," I was told).

There was a really sweet guy there at Uludag who I got to know a bit; it was he who turned me on to Altin Mikrofon, imploring me to pick up all three CDs, telling me I would never regret it, "but if you come back here in a week, two weeks, and they are gone?" Here ... let me just cut and paste a few things from the Altin Mikrofon page of PsycheMusic.org:

"There was such a blasting of bands that one of the biggest national newspapers, Hürriyet, decided to organize a big contest that would help the young amateur bands have their names heard throughout the country. The contest organizers wanted the musicians to either compose songs in Turkish or arrange a traditional tune, in a western style with electric western instruments. The finalists performed live In many cities. Had Altin Mikrofon not been assembled, we wouldn't likely to be talking about a 60's & 70's Turkish rock scene."

And a bit more from the same page:

"Altin Mikrofon, or 'the Golden Microphone,' was first held in 1965 to help give a new direction to contemporary turkish music through the use of western techniques, forms and instruments. The finalists would get their contest song plus a song of their choice recorded and printed as the A and B sides of a single, which was sold on the music market with all revenue benefiting the groups."

I remember reading a bit more about Altin Mikrofon somewhere, but can't seem to locate anything but the page from which those two quotes above appear. I seem to recall that this was not simply a fun contest that ultimately led to the Turkish Psychedelic movement, but rather part of a larger Turkish program to westernize (read: de-Islamicize) the culture. 

Whatever the case, it's certainly true that Altin Mikrofon would prove highly influential on the direction of Turkish pop music to come. It boggles the mind--my mind, at any rate--that the series, which I believe is fully contained in this three-CD set, has not yet been seized upon by some enterprising western label looking to cash in on the general mania for international psyche music (especially Turkish psyche) ... but, until they do, you can grab the series for yourself via the links below.

Get 1965

Get 1966

Get 1967-68

Sabahat Akkiraz | Turkulerle Cide Cide

Listen to "Saskin Yarim"


Listen to "Gor Nenni Nenni"

Get it all here.

A wonderful album by a leading light at the traditional/folk end of the Turkish music spectrum. I'm pretty sure I plucked this 1997 gem from the racks at Uludag Video, 1922 Ave W in Brooklyn, somewhere between 5-10 years ago. 

Born Sabahat Akkiray 1955, Akkiraz moved to Germany as a child, returning to her homeland in the early 1980s to record her first albums. She was, and perhaps still is, a member of Turkish Parliament.

A number of you enjoyed the other album of hers I posted a couple of years ago; perhaps you'll like this one as well.

Sezen Aksu | Serçe

Listen to "Ölürsem Yazıktır" 

Get the 2-CD album here. 

Perhaps because Portland is constantly overcast and drizzly, Stumptowners compensate with high-end coffee and music to cut through the gloom--you can't hold out your arms and flap them frantically like a baby chick crazily anticipating  regurgitated worms without hitting someone in the face who has just walked out of a record store on their way to a coffee shop.

Seriously, I have never seen so many record stores in my life. Two days ago, at one of the biggest (Everyday Music, 1931 NE Sandy Boulevard) I found a used copy of Sezen Aksu's second album, Serçe (Sparrow), which I've been searching for for years. 

I'd write more about it, but my friend and Portland host Rodney is throwing me a cocktail party that is set to begin in--eek!--15 minutes. Meanwhile, you can read a bit about Aksu, and get her first record, here. 

Ceza | Med-Cezir

Listen to "Meclis-I Ala"

Get it all here. 

Please, mighty Allah, please grant me this opportunity to add to the hundred and fifty billion ga-thousandy x infinity FB, Twitter and blog posts filling the airwaves this evening about FRANKENSTORM SANDY! Please.

I promise to work it in subtly: "Well, here I am after hours in the ol' Bodega, just hangin' out and restackin' the Goya shelf as, heh, it's gonna be a looooong night ahead as it looks like the New York City subway system has been shut down as of 7:00 p.m. what with of the impending--"

Can we talk? First of all, I'm sick of hearing about the storm. (Admittedly, I made the mistake of switching on NY1 earlier this evening--my bad.) Secondly, okay: like, I discovered that I hadn't yet upped this really divine album by Ceza, Turkey's Número un rapero (de Turquía)? And I listened to it, really for the second time since I bought it at Uludag Video in south Brooklyn eons ago, and I just thought it was beautiful and that you should have it. 

It's very different from Rapstar, which I added to the shelves here two-and-a-half years ago. Ceza's rapping style is the same: a slightly-to-very-much sped up version of Eminem. But the use of music and samples is very different, less about creating a jangly, perforated soundscape for the rapper to weave and bob through than it is a kind of lush, at times celestial, tapestry against which the rapper "throws" his voice (oh, shit, I forgot that that word also has to do with ventriloquism) like Jackson Pollock throwin' down alkyds, acrylics, vinyl-acrylics, polyurethanes, polyesters, melamine resins, epoxy, and oil.

Get beyond the Aerosmith loop in the sample above, and you'll see what I mean. Hope you enjoy it. And, yeah, sorry; all out of peanut butter, water and candles.

Orhan Gencebay | Klasikleri 1966-1993

Get the double album here.

Someone, somewhere--in conversation, an email or in the Bodega's Comments Aisle--recently expressed their thrill of Xtremely mustachioed Orhan Gencebay, whose Layla Ile Mecnun I added to the shelves back in April, here.

This 2-CD set, which I picked up almost a decade ago at a Turkish media store in lower midtown that my poet / translator friend Murat Nemet-Nejat took me to, is a nice introduction to the legendary singer / composer / actor's work.

I tried uploading "Ayşen" for you to listen to, but Divshare seems to be having trouble today (not, apparently, working on Labor Day, ha), so here's a music video of the same song:

Selda Bağcan | Deniz'lerin Dalgasıyım

Listen to "Düşen Hep Yerde Mi Kalır"

Get it all here.

Another terrific album by the unimpeachably great Selda Bağcan, and much more varied and colorful than that sample above would have you believe. (I love the sample above, but I love it for its straightforward rawkin energy and Selda's so-soulful-you're-not-sure-if-I'm-actually-crying-while-I'm-singing voice, and there is soooo much more going on in this album--it's the most diverse Selda that I have, though I admittedly only have 3 of her CDs.) 

Found, as with 75% of of my Super-Posse of Turkish Music Burned into Discs of Polycarbonate Plastic, at Uludag Video in Brooklyn.


UPDATE: I didn't realize it when I posted this this morning, but Turkish Psychedelic Music! was recently shut down by Blogger. Unbelievable.

Oğuz Yılmaz | Uğur Böceğim

Listen to "Küme Düşersin"

Listen to "Kıskananlar Çatlasın"

Get it all here.

My first exposure to Oğuz Yılmaz was through a cassette tape that I found god knows where probably 15 years ago. Born in 1968 in Ankara, Yılmaz sings a kind of amped up Turkish folk or arabesque, similar in some ways to the great Ibrahim Tatlises.

This CD, which I found at Uludag Video (1922 Ave W, Brooklyn) several years ago remains one of my all-time favorites, for the complex coloration of the music and the ear-popping expressiveness of Yılmaz's voice. (Give a listen to the second sample above and wait a while until the vocals kick in.)

Şivan Perwer | Lê Dîlberê

Listen to "Mala Min"

Get it all here.

I don't know why haven't posted this one yet. Raw, beautiful, sit-up-in-your-seat powerful, this 1986 album by the world-famous Kurdish protest poet and singer Şivan Perwer is one of my all-time favorite recordings. I found it at least a decade ago in a Turkish music and DVD store in Manhattan that I'm almost certain no longer exists.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

"Şivan Perwer (pron: Shivân Parwar) (born on September 23, 1955 in Sarıdam (Sorî), Siverek, Turkey as İsmail Aygün) is a Kurdish poet, writer, musical teacher, singer, and performer on the tembûr (lute). Şivan lives in exile after fleeing Turkey in 1976 because of his music.

"For many years, his songs were banned in Iraq, Syria,and Turkey because they are sung in Kurdish and often cite the oppression against the Kurdish people in the Middle East.

"Şivan's homemade recordings were smuggled over the border, while thousands of people came to see him perform live. Fearing for his life and the welfare of his family and after calls from Turkish authorities demanding his arrest, he fled Turkey and settled in Germany in 1976. There, Şivan recorded his first official album of traditional Kurdish songs. ..."

Three Master Musicians of Urfa

Şanlıurfa, which everyone just calls Urfa, is a city in southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border. It boasts an 11,000 year history. Over the centuries, several cultures have called the city and surrounding area home; it's currently made up largely of Kurdish and Turkmen inhabitants. The city and the area are famous throughout Turkey for having the one of the richest musical cultures in the country. (One of Turkey's biggest superstars, Ibrahim Tatlises, was born there.)

The three singers included in this double-CD set--Hamza Senses (aka Kel Hamza, or Bald Hamza), Tahir Oturan (aka Mukim Tahir), and Bakır Yurtsever (aka Bekçi Bakır)--all hail from Urfa and each began recording in the late 20s.

Listen to Kel Hamza sing "Kışlalar Doldu Bugün"

Born in 1904, Hamza Sensis was an entirely self-taught poet and musician, never having attended school. His voice, as you can readily hear in that sample above, was astounding in its passionate expressivity. While working as a feltmaker, his coworkers overheard him singing to himself, and suggested he put out a record. After clearing the idea with his family--becoming a professional singer or musician, as opposed to just singing and playing for the joy of it, was considered shameful at the time in Urfa--he recorded his first record, which quickly turned into his first hit. He began getting offers to perform, in Urfa and beyond.

His life was difficult, marked by tragedy (including the death of his daughter), and short; he died, according to the booklet that comes with this CD, in 1939 (although this booklet also has him performing in the 40s), after getting into an argument with patrons at one of the clubs he often sang at. He had gone there on his day off and, as no one had been scheduled to perform that evening, a group of men asked him if he wouldn't mind singing. He got up on stage and performed a single song, then went back to his table and continued drinking. The other patrons began to insinuate he was acting stuck up; a scuffle ensued; Kel Hamza was pushed and fell a flight down into the bazaar below, striking his head against a woodblock in front of a carpenter's house.

Listen to Mukim Tahir sing "Yaram Sızlar"

While Mukim Tahir lived a few years longer than Kel Hamza, his life was no less tragic:  he spent 10 years in prison, having been accused of murdering his uncle; while he was in prison, his wife died of tuberculosis; after being released from prison he became an alcoholic for many years, spending everything he had saved. He died in 1946 in his mid-40s. He is still remembered today as one of the all-time great Urfali singers.

Listen to Bekçi Bakır sing "Muradı Böyle"

And, finally, we have Bekçi Bakır (Bakır the Watchman), who in stark contrast with the other two singers in this collection, and despite being illiterate, enjoyed a long and healthy life, raising 10 children, recording dozens of records and hundreds of songs on tape before passing away in 1985 at the age of 78. His voice was reputedly so strong, he broke microphones when singing in Istanbul and developed a habit, after that, of either singing without one, or turning in the opposite direction if one was put onstage for him.

So? Get the 2-disc set here.

Ethnic Balkan Music | 3 CD Box from Greece

I found this fabulous 3-CD set about 8-10 years ago on what was my first-ever trip to Astoria, Queens. I had no idea then that I'd wind up living in this neighborhood, which I had thought at the time was cold and indifferent, based solely on my trying to ask two passersby where a particular address was that I was looking for and having them completely ignore me.

Before I finally found my destination, I stumbled into a Greek music store, where I found this incredible boxed set along with another boxed set of early rebetiko music (which, yes, someday I will upload as well). My memory is very hazy but I am almost certain the store was on or near 31st Street and that it was on the corner. If that was really the case, then it must have gone out of business years ago.

The first CD includes music from Albania and the Central Balkans, 1920-40. CD number two concentrates on Bulgaria and Turkey, 1930-45. And the last focuses entirely on Greece, 1922-50.

"Girl of the Wave" (Albania, first CD)

"Mother Said to Ziatonka" (Bulgaria, second CD)

"Heavy As Iron" (Greece, third CD)

Get the whole box set here.

Orhan Gencebay | Leyla Ile Mecnun

First, you sort of need to take a quick peek at this page. Yeah, now's fine. Right. [Dead air, 12 secs.] Okay. Are you back? Yes? No, no, that's fine. I'll wait. Yeah, no--I encourage you to, uh. Right. Great. Okay. [Crickets, 35-40 secs.] So. We good? Kay. Now, with the after-burn of all those mustaches smoldering in your retinas, take a sweet, long listen to this:

Listen to the title song of this CD

I'm almost positive I found this much-sought-after CD at a Turkish music store in the lower east 20s of Manhattan in, like, 2000 or thereabouts. The poet and translator Murat Nemet-Nejat took me there and I'm almost pretty sure he encouraged me to pick up this CD, because (a) he knew I liked what little Turkish arabesque I'd previously heard and (b) I remember him detailing the Layla and Majnun story that, clearly, this album is named after.

I don't listen to this album often, but when I do pull it out, I'm always amazed by the ethereal guitar work and the smooth soulfulness of Gencebay's voice. A really nice way to begin a lazy Sunday morning. 

Get kit and caboodle here.

Rap Around the World | A Bodega Pop mix

Listen to "Phnom Penh Hip Hop" by The Khmer Rap Boyz (Cambodia)

Listen to "Haiti" by Elza Soares (Brazil)

Listen to "Eat Around" by Missile Scoot Girl (Japan)

Listen to "Γουστάρει Η Παλαβή" by Εισβολέας (Greece)

Listen to "DK Anthem" by Divided Kingdom Republic (Zimbabwe)

Get the 24-song mix here.

As anyone who has spent a bit of time in the Bodega knows, this here shop keep has a particular predilection for international rap and hip-hop--the further the language from English, the better. That said, rap & hip-hop from around the world comprise a small percentage of the CDs in my collection, maybe 1%, if that. But you wouldn't know it, looking at the BP tag cloud.

I'm not exactly picky when it comes to pop; though I suppose I do have some standards. But, while there is certainly a goodly amount of bad hip-hop out there--mostly stuff that simply mimics rap in the USA--there are people in all corners of the world who, picking up cues from Western examples, take it somewhere else, occasionally somewhere totally unexpected. 


I'm not going to sit here this morning and tell you that every hip-hop artist in this mix is some sort of insane genius, turning rap & hip-hop up to 11. But some of them are. And those that aren't, at least among what I've tried to include here, are at bare minimum making the genre their own.

If you visit here often and have partaken of the dozen or so hip-hop related CDs I've posted over the last couple of years, fear not: I tried really, really, really extra-special hard not to duplicate, whenever possible. So there's Fama in here, but not the Fama you can get elsewhere on this site. I didn't actually count, but I think maybe 4 or 5 songs in this mix can be found in other full CDs or mixes on this blog.

I also didn't just rip stuff from YouTube videos, although--Jesus God Almighty, it was certainly tempting. Everything here is from my own personal CD collection, with a few things I downloaded myself from other sites that I wasn't able to find in CD anywhere (e.g., the Khmer Rap Boyz).


Okay, I'm going to shut up now and let you get to this. Would love to know what you think. It's my personal favorite Bodega Pop mix, and--at some point in the future, assuming people like this--I'll probably put together another (or two, or three).

Safiye Ayla | Yanik Ömer

Born in Istanbul in 1907, Safiye Ayla was one of the most famous classical Turkish music singers, clocking in more than 500 recordings before she passed away in 1998. Known for her range, her pronunciation (yes) and for having been influenced to some degree by western singers, she was reportedly a favorite of secularist/reformist Turkish National Movement leader and (ultimately) president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

I found this treasure at one of my favorite places in Brooklyn: Uludag Video (1922 Avenue W, near Ocean Avenue). The last time I visited, which was two-three years ago, they had decided to discontinue importing CDs, which weren't making enough money for them, to concentrate on their bread and butter: Turkish movies on DVD.

Listen to "Aşkından Sen Nasıl Bıktın"

Get the whole album in 256 glorious kbps here.

Selda | Türkülerimiz 6

Born in 1948, Selda Bağcan--better known as, simply, Selda--is an international sensation. I found this and a couple of her other albums at Uludag Video in Brooklyn, before they ceased importing CDs to focus solely on video. Her sixth studio album, this was originally released in 1979.

From the Anatolian Psych website (all grammatical issues, etc., sic):

"Selda Bağcan or Selda, was born in Muğla, Turkey ... a well renowned Turkish folk music singer, composer and politic activist.

Her protest style and leftist, socialist political views both in lyrical and activist means brought her a great support from the public yet caused many troubles with the military and governmental authorities. Selda Bağcan's lyrics demonstrate a political struggle as well as the problems and demands of working class and the public. Her satirical lyrics make critical references to contemporary politicians from both left and right-wings yet mostly criticizes the right-wing governments and imperialism.

She both composed her own songs and covered Turkish Folk songs. Bağcan's covers involve the usage of western instruments like acoustic guitar as well as traditional ones like saz or bağlama. Her modern and universal style in covering the traditional folk songs, involving a wide variety of musical styles from progressive and psych rock to traditional folk catches the attention of many music lovers who are into different genres of music. And because of her powerful and emotional voice, she is known as (and she calls herself) bitter sound of Turkish people.

She has started her musical career when she was a student at Ankara University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Engineering Physics. The first two singles had sold around one million and following this success she somehow had to choose music as a profession. She had gave concerts in many countries including Germany, Netherlands, France, England, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and Australia. Also attended to the Golden Orpheus 1972 representing Turkey with the request of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She mainly performed on activities mainly organized by left wing foundations and initiatives. In 1973, for the first time she toured the Western Europe.

After the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, her activities were limited by the military junta and she had been arrested and jailed three times between 1981 and 1984. She couldn't attend to The WOMAD (Word of Music and Dance) Foundation Festival 1986, which was supported by Peter Gabriel, just because her passport had been seized. But the festival committee decided to add one of her songs to the official record of the festival. This record has helped her to receive many international invitations for festivals around the world. With the hard efforts of the WOMAD Foundation, the government returned Bağcan's passport in 1987. At the same year, she attended Rotterdam Art Festival (June 13), WOMAD and Glastonbury Festival (June 19), Jubile Gardens (June 20), Eurls Court (June 25), Capital Radio Festival (June 26). After her Western Europe tour in 1988, she gave local public concerts during 1989 and 1990. These concerts were free and hundreds thousands of people were gathered.

She lives in İstanbul and runs her own business under the name Majör Müzik Yapım (Majör Music Production) ..."

Listen to "Kaç Guzulu Ceylan"

Get it all here.

Zeki Müren | 1955-63 Kayitlari (early radio recordings)

I found this unimpeachable treasure in the late 90s or early 00s at a Turkish music store in Manhattan not far from Curry Hill (Bogaziçi Video, 35 East 21^st Street, 2^nd floor). I was taken there by the poet and translator Murat Nemet-Nejat, who may have alerted me to its existence and who may also have encouraged me to pick up this particular item. (Murat edited and translated most of what is and will be for some time THE book of 20th century Turkish poetry in English, Eda. Read a review of this essential collection here.)

Müren recorded more than 600 records, cassettes and CDs; this collection includes, according to the liner notes, "his early radio recordings removed from commercial concern, which represent Müren's admirable performance when he was in the prime of his musical career."

Grab both discs in a single RAR file here.

What follows is all from Wikipedia:

Zeki Müren (born in Bursa, Turkey on 6 December 1931, died in İzmir on 24 September 1996) was a prominent Turkish singer, composer and actor. He was famous for his compelling voice and precise articulation in his singing of both established Turkish classical music and contemporary songs.

Müren grew up in the provincial capital city of Bursa in western Turkey. From 1950 to 1953 he studied decorative arts in Istanbul at the Fine Arts Academy while launching his musical career. Müren’s first album was issued in 1951, at which time he was a regular singer on Istanbul Radio. In 1955, he produced his first Gold Record.

In his forty-five-year professional career Müren composed more than three hundred songs and made more than six hundred recordings. He was celebrated as the "Sun" of classical Turkish music and was affectionately called "Pasha". Many of Müren's records were also published in Greece, where he also enjoyed popularity, along with the U.S., Germany, Iran, and several other countries during the 1960s and 1970s.

Müren was also a gifted poet, publishing Bıldırcın Yağmuru (The Quail Rain) in 1965. Additionally, he acted in Turkish cinema, starring in eighteen films and writing many of their musical scores. Even though he did not consider himself a painter, he painted as a hobby.

Müren dressed effeminately, wearing large, ornate rings and heavy make up, especially in the later years of his life. In many ways, he had a pioneering role in rendering the Turkish society more accepting about homosexuality. He, with his distinct style, remained a highly respected artist throughout his career, and in a sense, paved the way for many later, more openly gay or transsexual Turkish artists. His visual style shows many similarities with Wladziu Valentino Liberace.

He died of a heart attack during a live performance on stage in the city of İzmir on September 24, 1996. His death caused the greatest public grief in years and thousands of Turks attended his funeral. Zeki Müren Art Museum, established in Bodrum, where Müren used to live, has been visited by more than 200,000 people between its opening on June 8, 2000 and December 2006. All his worldly possessions are donated to the Türk Eğitim Vakfı (Foundation for Turkish Education) and Mehmetçik Vakfı (Armed Forces Foundation for Disabled Veterans and Families of the Martyrs.)

Listen to a song from the same period