Senem Diyici
Born in Beyoğlu, one of the most cosmopolitan districts of Istanbul, she grown up among Armenian, Greek, Hungarian and Jew neighboors, which would subsequently turn into a musical richness. Her musical talent discovered first by her father at the age of five and she began to take music lessons from Istanbul Music Community. At the age of ten she entered Istanbul Conservatory to have Turkish Classical Music education for six years. Deeply influenced by the works of Ruhi Su, Diyici successfully combined her Western Music background with her conventional folk music repertory. She produced her first record “Nar Hanım” in 1969 against the consent of her teachers. Leaving academic education in 1971, she began to travel across Anatolia to collect a repertory consisting of almost six hundred folk songs. She released four albums in France arranged by Alain Blesing. Her albums won great recognition by music critics: “Takalar” (1989-Label La Lichere), “Geste/Jest” (1993–Label Wad Prod./Artalent), “Divan” (1995–Label Artalent), “Tell Me Trabizon” (1998–Label Buda Musique). Her contributions to Turkish folk music, jazz, and world music in general is of great value. Her album “Zıpçıktı” was released with the label of Ada Music in 2003.