Born in 1961 in Istanbul, Saadet Türköz is a singer, improviser and vocal artist. She has been living in Switzerland for over 40 years and is one of the most prominent figures on the independent music scene in Zurich.
Saadet Türköz has been influenced by the most diverse musical traditions: she assimilated the folk songs of her grandparents, who had to flee Kazakhstan for Turkey, and became interested in the music of India, Central Asia and the Arab cultural area at an early age. In her music, these different traditions meet with the blues, the European and American avant-garde and free jazz.
Saadet Türköz collaborates with musicians from different generations and regions of the world. The album "Kumuska" (2019), for example, was created with the American experimentalist Elliott Sharp in New York. "Urumchi", her 2006 album, was recorded with Kazakh musicians - and named after the capital of the Uyghurs and the hometown of her grandparents. She has enjoyed collaborations with, for example Martin Schütz or the winners of the Swiss Music Prize 2014 and 2021, Julian Sartorius and Nils Wogram. In 2021, she released "We Are Strong" with guitarist Beat Keller. In this album she combines traces of her family history with the experimental sounds of today.
Saadet Türköz's music moves between different cultural spaces and eras. And yet, thanks to her art of improvisation, it is entirely here and now.
Saadet Türköz | Swiss Music Prizes 2023
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Added on 7 August 2023
The world-renowned vocal artist
Born in 1961 in Istanbul, Saadet Türköz is a singer, improviser and vocal artist. She has been living in Switzerland for over 40 years and is one of the most prominent figures on the independent music scene in Zurich.
Saadet Türköz has been influenced by the most diverse musical traditions: she assimilated the folk songs of her grandparents, who had to flee Kazakhstan for Turkey, and became interested in the music of India, Central Asia and the Arab cultural area at an early age. In her music, these different traditions meet with the blues, the European and American avant-garde and free jazz.
Saadet Türköz collaborates with musicians from different generations and regions of the world. The album "Kumuska" (2019), for example, was created with the American experimentalist Elliott Sharp in New York. "Urumchi", her 2006 album, was recorded with Kazakh musicians - and named after the capital of the Uyghurs and the hometown of her grandparents. She has enjoyed collaborations with, for example Martin Schütz or the winners of the Swiss Music Prize 2014 and 2021, Julian Sartorius and Nils Wogram. In 2021, she released "We Are Strong" with guitarist Beat Keller. In this album she combines traces of her family history with the experimental sounds of today.
Saadet Türköz's music moves between different cultural spaces and eras. And yet, thanks to her art of improvisation, it is entirely here and now.
Credits and thanks
© 2023
A project by the Federal Office of Culture, Bern
Project Management | Giada Marsadri
Production | Beauregard Films
Film by | Julien Chavaillaz, Yves Marchon, Cyprien Corminboeuf
Mix | Adrien Gaillard
Translation | Language Services FOC
Graphic Design | Herendi Artemisio
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