tülay german & francois rabbath: homage to nazim hikmet

Following the reissue of the self-titled debut by Tülay German & François Rabbath in 2021, Zehra present the second and final part of our Tülay German reissues: Homage To Nazım Hikmet (1982). Once again in a duo setting with François Rabbath, Tülay German pays tribute to one of Turkey's greatest poets of the 20th century: Nazım Hikmet (1902-1963). Recorded in the early '80s this two-album work cycle refers heavily on Turkish poets and the tradition of aşıks (singer-poets and wandering bards) and consists of unique and modern interpretations of Turkish folk songs unmatched to this day. Back in the '60s Tülay German shook the Turkish music landscape with several 7" records. Most notably her first 7" record Burçak Tarlası (1964) is now considered the cornerstone of what was to become the Anadolu rock/pop movement and underlines her rebellious nature and sense of justice. But due to increasing repression, Tülay German and her lifelong partner and intellectual impetus Erdem Buri decided to leave Turkey a few years later. In France, Tülay German signs a major contract with Philips resulting in many 7" releases sung in French under the moniker Toulaϊ. Despite the success and recognition, Tülay German doesn't feel comfortable with the record deal and decides to quit the contract. Later, she signs to independent world music label Arion to pursue her actual artistic goals more in line with her origin and temperament. Back to her mother tongue, Tülay German records above mentioned albums for Arion under full artistic freedom, the only full-lengths in her 20+ year career. Alongside with double-bass virtuoso and turkophil François Rabbath, the albums consist of aşık traditionals and intonated poems mainly by Nazım Hikmet. Her passionate voice and the restrained arrangements of François Rabbath turn these centuries old melodies and poems into glowing manifestos for love and justice. The fruitful collaboration of these artists-in-exile adds significantly to the rich heritage of Turkish folk music. Nazım Hikmet is considered as one of Turkey's greatest poets of the 20th century, though during his lifetime his works were banned in Turkey for decades and he spent most of his life in prison or in exile. Tülay German ended her musical career in 1987. In 2021 Tülay German was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Turkey.