Aynur Dogan

Aynur was born in 1975 in Çemisgezek, in the province of Tunceli. She attended at ASM Music School in Istanbul, where she studied singing with Begüm Erdem and Askin Metiner. In 2002, her first albüm, "Seyir" was released. Besides taking part in concerts and albums of artists and groups such as Metin-Kemal Kahraman, Grup Yorum, Lütfü Gültekin, Anjelika Akbar and Orient Expressions, she has also performed the vocals for television and cinema. She has performed at home and abroad in both Kurdish and Turkish. Her album "Keçe Kurdan" (Kurdish Girl) was released by Kalan Music in 2004.



The product of nearly a year's effort, with arrangements by such master musicians as Aykut Gürel, Serdar Ateser, Kemal Sahir Gürel and Burhan Bayar, Aynur's "Keçe Kurdan" album presented a combination of Turkish and Kurdish folk songs, as well as new compositions. Accompanied by a host of fine musicians, the album was notable for its original arrangements. With her broad vocal range, Aynur performs both folk songs and improvisations, and her album has proved capable of deeply moving audiences.



Rising quickly to the top of Kurdish music albums, "Keçe Kurdan" has received a significant amount of attention, both in the Turkish and World press. The English magazine Folk Roots (fRoots) featured the albüm on the cover of their November 2004 issue. The article, titled "A Kurd on the Way," gave an account of Aynur's success and information on her past. Comparing her to Turkey's Sezen Aksu and Greece's Eleftheria Arvanitaki, it declared Aynur a major star for ali Kurds. Aynur's photo was also on the cover of a suppiemeni to the London Times Marcy 21, 2005 issue, titled "The Cultural Wealth of Turkey."



Attaining great success through the song she sang in Kurdish in Yavuz Turgul's film "Gönül Yarasi," Aynur became the First to sing a Kurdish song live in a film shot in Turkey. She was also featured in Fatih Akin's documentary film "Istanbul Hatirasi / Crossing the Bridge."



In May 2005, Aynur receîved great interest when she performed in various cities of Holland with the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, considered the finest wind ensemble in the country. Later, she gave three concerts in the "Festival of Turkey" held in Spain in July 2005, alongside such artists as Aksu, Erkan Ogur, Kardes Türküler, Mercan Dede and Burhan Öçal.



Along with these developments, fifteen montns after its release, the Sixth Criminal Court of Diyarbakir issued a court decision to have the "Keçe Kurdan" album removed from the shelves, under the prelext that the song of the same name "encouraged women to go up into the mountains and engage in separatism." The decision was sent to the province governorship. That decision was annulled in September 2005.



Aynur also performed one song in Kardes Türküler's last albüm "Bahar" (Kalan Müzik, 2005), and two songs in Mikail Aslan's latest album, "Miraz" (Kalan Müzik, 2005.)



After the great success of Aynur’s previous album “Kece Kurdan”, which was released in 2004 ; Aynur’s latest album “Nûpel (Yeni Sayfa)” was released by Kalan Muzik in 2005. Just like preceding release, in the new album she is performing Kurdish-Turkish folk songs with the new compositions in the accompaniment of many talented musicians. In the new album, Aynur’s charming performance mixes with the extreme arrangements. Also there are remixes of the songs “Ez Keyok” and “Kece Kurdan” . In the latest album “Nûpel (Yeni Sayfa)” , Aynur’s wonderful voice is again enchanting the listeners with experimental conceptions.