Mortissa

Product Description 'Mortissa' (a strong independent woman) is an album of smyrneika/rebetiko songs in Greek and Turkish with musical roots in Anatolia. The music arose in the turbulent times of the 1920s. This is the music of the alternative, the underground scene, the music of freedom-loving people; appropriate for the current political situation. Although there have been many recordings of rebetiko over the years, Istanbul-born, London-based singer Cigdem Aslan presents a fresh take; an immigrant herself, a person from a minority ethnic group, a female singer in a usually male genre. Cigdem (pronounced 'Cheedem') has made her mark on the UK scene both as a solo artist - she has supported Yasmin Levy and Sezen Aksu at major venues - and as lead singer of the award-winning She'koyokh klezmer ensemble. With this debut album she is ready to take the stage as a star in her own right. Review Singer Cigdem Aslan was born in Turkey, but has been part of London s musical scene for several years, singing with the excellent klezmer and Balkan group She Koyokh. But her debut solo album shows she s a rising star and a truly sublime singer of rebetika the gorgeous, melancholic music that came out of the Greek and Turkish resettlements of the 1920s. Aslan makes these songs, in Greek and Turkish, her own and has assembled a spectacular band of instrumentalists with sublime solos on clarinet, violin and kanun zither. The music is at turns ebullient, seductive and introspective. This isn t just a great record from London musicians, but a release of international significance. FIVE STARS --London Evening Standard Absolutely stunning stuff...it is so infectious --Cerys Matthews, BBC 6 startlingly good --fROOTS magazine Absolutely stunning stuff...it is so infectious --Cerys Matthews, BBC 6 startlingly good --fROOTS magazine Absolutely stunning stuff...it is so infectious --Cerys Matthews, BBC 6 startlingly good --fROOTS magazine Absolutely stunning stuff...it is so infectious --Cerys Matthews, BBC 6 startlingly good --fROOTS magazine