Derya Türkan & Sokratis Sinopoulos

Derya Türkan and Sokratis Sinopoulos have been the most influential Istanbul kemençesi or Politiki lyra performers for almost three decades now. They have recorded two albums as part of their Letter from Istanbul project and individually, they have performed significant concerts and recordings as leaders or in collaboration with prominent international musicians in a variety of musical styles from classical to contemporary improvisation. Derya Türkan and Sokratis Sinopoulos share a longtime friendship which started when they met in their late teens and they have since become pioneers in collaborations between Greek and Turkish musicians exploring the common ground between these two cultures.

With their latest album Soundplaces (Soundplaces, Seyir Muzik, 2020), the duet creates an interactive narrative of their geographical, historical and personal inner journeys. Soundplaces is a creative dialogue in which the two masters virtually explore the sounds of the musical traditions they love and the sounds of the places they visit. Starting from Istanbul, mother of the classical kemençe and breeding ground to the supreme art music known as makam, Derya Türkan & Sokratis Sinipoulos travel to the Island of Mytilini and Izmir, city of Rebetiko. From there they move on to the Cyclades Islands and Konya – the home of the Mevlevi Dervishes – and then back to the Sea of Marmara in Erdek.