Aynur

Vocal Folk Mediterranean
Aynur

Internationally acclaimed and award-winning singer-composer Aynur is set to captivate audiences once again with her highly anticipated 8th studio album, "RABE” set to release on 1st of March!

She is the outstanding, iconic voice of the Kurdish people. For a quarter of a century, Aynur has intertwined the traditional colours of her homeland, including bardic songs and the ancient and modern poetry of Kurdistan with classical, jazz, and pop from the West. Through contemporary sounds, she opens up Kurdish culture to the whole world.
Growing up with the songs and poems of Kurdish bards, Aynur moved to Istanbul as a teenager, studying and singing the lute Bağlama. From the beginning of her career, Aynur has set new standards in Kurdish and Turkish music, blending traditional instruments and strings with gripping popular arrangements. At the core is her touching, stirring, powerful, and equally melancholic voice, singing in Kurdish dialects and also in Turkish. World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma invited her to his famous Silk Road Ensemble. In 2017, she received the "Master of Mediterranean Music Award" from the Berklee Mediterranean Music Institute, and in 2021, she received the "Artist Award" at the World Music Expo (WOMEX). Filmmaker Fatih Akın portrayed her in his film "Crossing The Bridge“. She appears in an unforgettable scene in Morgan Neville's documentary about Yo-Yo Ma.

In the last ten years, Aynur has further developed her artistic spectrum, refining the art of writing her own songs. With her eighth album "Rabe" Aynur intertwines many threads of her more than 20-year career. Nearly 20 musicians contribute to this work, recorded in Cologne and Catalonia. Aynur arranged with jazz pianist Franz von Chossy, whose spatial sound design played a significant role in the predecessor "Hedûr" (2019). With von Chossy, Patrick Goraguer on drums, and Chris Jennings on bass, a magnificent rhythm section has come together in countless concerts. Snarky Puppy's leader Michael League plays electric guitar himself and mixes the strings, while Wu Man, the most famous Chinese pipa virtuoso, is featured as a guest on two tracks. The result is a multifaceted sound landscape, exuding folklore flair, featuring meditative interludes and jazzy improvisations, as well as gripping, funky moments. The music and lyrics come from tradition, as well as from Aynur herself and icons of Kurdish, Alevi, and Yazidi culture such as Şâh Hatâî, Pir Sultan Abdal, Evdalê Zeynikê, Şeroyê Biro

In the guise of an exhilarating disco-funk, the single "Rabe Edlayê" tells a gripping story about an unattainable love between the daughter of a nobleman and a penniless farmer's son. Confidently, Aynur presents two fantastic original compositions: Jazzily bouncing drums and luminous strings paint a nighttime scene in "Remembering," and with "Ez U Bi Teva" ("You and I"), she has written an intimate song about a young man ascending into the lonely mountain world to find his beloved. The ballad "Ay Le Gule" compares Kurdistan to a rose of incomparable beauty and intoxicating fragrance. In "Nasil Yar Diyeyim," Aynur showcases her full vocal power with a text by Alevi poet Pir Sultan Abdal, and "Dervis Baba" also revolves around the healing power of Alevi-Bektashi spirituality.
"Rabe" represents a pinnacle in Aynur's previous work: With love poetry, spirituality, and unwavering determination for freedom, the album showcases a matured artist who asserts herself as the greatest Kurdish voice of the 21st century.

Videos
  • Aynur Doğan - O Yar Gelir
    Aynur Doğan - O Yar Gelir
  • Aynur Artist Award Recipient | Live at WOMEX 21 Awards Ceremony
    Aynur Artist Award Recipient | Live at WOMEX 21 Awards Ceremony
  • Aynur Doğan - Dar Hejîrokê
    Aynur Doğan - Dar Hejîrokê
  • Aynur Doğan - Peş Nare | Live Performance
    Aynur Doğan - Peş Nare | Live Performance
  • AYNUR    Zerê
    AYNUR Zerê
Images
  • AynurAynur Aynur Aynur
Press
"To hear Aynur’s voice is to hear the transformation of all the layers of human joy and suffering into one sound. It reaches so deep into our soul, tears into our hearts, and then we are for one moment, joined as one. It is unforgettable."
Yo-Yo Ma
„Whenever Aynur takes a melody, she makes it her own, transforming it into something beautiful, and every note, every microtone, every word reaches depth and unparalleled beauty. She is a reason to love live music for centuries"
Javier Limón
Discography
Lure
Lure
2021
Aynur
Hedûr - Solace of Time
Hedûr - Solace of Time
2020
The Orchard
Hawniyaz
Hawniyaz
2016
Harmonia Mundi
Hevra (Together) [feat. Javier Limón]
Hevra (Together) [feat. Javier Limón]
2013
Sony Music Classical
Rewend (Gocebe)
Rewend (Gocebe)
2010
Sony Music
Nûpel
Nûpel
2005
Kalan Music
Keçe Kurdan
Keçe Kurdan
2004
Kalan Music
Line up

6 musicians

Aynur - Vocals and Tembur
Chris Jennings - Double Bass
Patrick Goraguer - Drums
Mike Roelofs - Piano
James Wylie - Saxophone
Sinan Cem Eroğlu - Guitar and Tembur

Availability

Territories:

Europe

except:

France, Turkey, Netherlands, Northern Europe, Switzerland

2024 all year
2025 all year
2026 all year
Contact
Frank Abraham
Frank Abraham
Managing Director, Head of A&R Global Pop Music, Booking Agent
fa@f-cat.de / +49 30 26 103 29 20

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