Zen
One of the pioneering groups of alternative and improvised music in Turkey, Zen was founded in 1998 within the body of Boğaziçi University Music Club. One founding member of the group, Murat Ertel had previously took part in “High School Band” of Nişantaşı Anatolian High School and played with the other founding members of the group, Merih Öztaylan and Levent Akman. Zen has performed with many rock bands including Tır, Exotic Band, Ra, Painted Bird, Atmosfer, Maximal Punch Effect and 2/5 BZ. In 1994 they shared their covers with the listeners in various bar programmes under the name “Repertory Dogs.” Adopting a collective improvisation style, the group features a certain loyalty to the psychodelic rock and punk of the 1970’s. Their distinctive style is one blending the various music styles of various geographies including jazz, blues, sufi, roman ve arabesque components. Their albums “Derya”(The Sea) and “Tanbul” were released with the label of Ada Music.