ONUR At The Crossroads Of Two Continents With Ölüm Gelene Kadar Yüzüm Kanadi

This is something any mixed race individual has felt during their childhood: society ultimately asking them to pick a side. When in fact, there's no need to.

ONUR came to that very same conclusion through a recent stay in Istanbul. Raised in London, the British Turk independent artist was invited to return to his home country in order to produce for some local, major pop stars. A new journey of discovery and experimentation started, leading him to create a brand new project, blending the best of both worlds: his signature, futuristic western sound, with all the traditional essence of Turkish music.

His latest release Ölüm Gelene Yüzüm Kanadi (OGKYK) is a wonderful example of what art can do: people often say that, like love, music is a universal language, and by fully embracing all the beauty of his ethnicity, ONUR managed to highlight the richness of both cultures.

Unveiled in two parts, OGKYK is first a melancholic, stripped down track about the hardships of life. The pain emanating from his heart-wrenching, guttural vocals, is beautifully plucked by a kopuz, an ancient fretless guitar played on the track by the famous Turkish musician Erkan Ogur.

On the original version, the song takes a whole new dimension: this time, ONUR's distress is reflected through a syncopated beat and samples closer that bring OGKYK closer to pop and rnb, while his Turkish roots are echoing in percussions and melismatic vocals.

At the crossroads of two continents, ONUR builds, through Ölüm Gelene Kadar Yüzüm Kanadi, what would become a solid bridge with this new innovative sound.

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