Mercan Dede - Nefes (Breath) (2006)

«Mercan Dede's summer 2005 visit to London found him packing The Forum in Kentish Town, his wild mix of electronica and Turkish Sufi music making the audience dance until they too became whirling dervishes – Mercan tours with his own whirling dervishes!

Dede's had a profile on the North American dance music scene for several years now, primarily DJing techno as Arkin Allen, but more recently he's been noticed by the world music market as a man who can help connect a Western audience with the ancient musical culture of Sufism. Dede's profile is rising with his appearances in the Channel 4 documentary on Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music Of Islam (director Simon Broughton) and the German-Turkish film Crossing The Bridge: The Sound Of Istanbul (director Fatih Akin).

What makes Dede unique is his pioneering attempts at building musical bridges between Turkish Sufism and contemporary Western electronic music. Sufism is Islam's most mystical and musical sect and one Dede believes can help create harmony in this time of violence and fear. Dede, born Akin Alical, is Turkish born and trained as a photographer but has resided for some time in Montreal. Dede is an accomplished musician, playing the ney (reed flute), bendir, frame drum, zarp and udu drum, and has produced several CDs. […]

Dede believes the traditional Sufi understanding of music as a means to uplift and harmonize the soul is reflected in the rave/nightclub scenes of Europe and North America. 'I don't like the separation,' says Dede. 'The Sufi poet Rumi has a very good saying: 'If you are everywhere, you are nowhere. If you are somewhere, you are everywhere.' My somewhere is my heart. I try to figure it out. The rest, the hype, the trends, they are not important. Instead of talking about war in Iraq, if you can make a sound of a small instrument from an Iraqi village, you can tell people more about what is going on there. For me, the future is electronic and folkloric.'» (Garth Cartwright, BBC Radio 3 Awards)

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