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Sezen Aksu was born in Sarayköy, Denizli in 1954. Her family moved to Izmir when she was 3 years old, and she spent her childhood and early youth there. After finishing high school, she began to study at the local agricultural institute of Ege University, but she left college to concentrate on her music. Along with her close friend Ajda Pekkan, Aksu is credited with laying the foundations of Turkish pop music in the 1970s. Aksu started performing on stage in 1976. She released her first single, “Haydi Şansım/Gel Bana” (Come on My Luck/Come to Me) in 1975 under the name of Sezen Seley. However, she remained undiscovered until her 1976 single “Olmaz Olsun/Vurdumduymaz” (Wish It Never Happened/Insensitive) reached number one in the Turkish charts. Her first album was 1978′s “Serçe” (Sparrow), which became her nickname, thanks to a Turkish journalist. In the 1980s, she continued to release her albums including “Sevgilimle” (1980), “Firuze” (1983), “Sen Ağlama” (1984), “Git” (1986), “Sezen Aksu ‘88” (1988) and “Sezen Aksu Söylüyor” (1989). Aksu was awarded “Best Female Singer of the Year” by Hey magazine in 1983 and 1985.
Her music matured in the 90′s, when she co-produced her best selling album to date: “Gülümse” (Smile) with Onno Tunç. The A-1 track from the album called “Hadi Bakalım” (Come On Now) was a hit in Turkey and Europe, and was published as a single in Germany. It would later rediscovered in Europop by singer Loona as Rhythm of the Night. She also began to produce albums for her vocalists, notably producing Aşkın Nur Yengi′s debut album “Sevgiliye” (To the One I Love) again with Tunç. She later repeated this successfully with artists Erener and Yüksel.
In 1990, she acted in Yavuz Özkan’s “Büyük Yalnızlık” with Ferhan Şensoy, and received "Best Presentation” award in the Altın Portakal Film Festival. In 1995, Aksu branched out with the experimental album “Işık Doğudan Yükselir” (Light Rises From the East), drawing both on western classical and regional Turkish musical traditions. This album made her name famous outside Turkey, and gave her a music following across Europe. In 1996, she released “Düş Bahçeleri” (Dream Gardens) as a tribute to Tunç, who died that same year tragically when his private plane crashed. In 1997, she released “Düğün ve Cenaze” (The Wedding And The Funeral), collaborating with Goran Bregovic.
Aksu returned to her roots with “Adı Bende Saklı” (Its Name Is Hidden In Me), which was released in 1998. She began to use experimental sounds and was once again pushing Turkish pop into the future. Aksu continued this trend with her subsequent albums “Deliveren” (Crazy maker), “Şarkı Söylemek Lazım” (Gotta Sing), and “Yaz Bitmeden” (Before The Summer Ends) between the years 2000 and 2003. After a two year hiatus, Aksu returned with “Bahane” (Excuse) in 2005. That same year, she released “Kardelen” (Snowdrop) where all proceeds went to charity. Before the end of 2005, she released a “Bahane/Remixes” (Excuse/Remixes) double-CD album, which contained the original Bahane album in disc one and the remixes of songs in Bahane in disc two. At the end of the year, her albums “Bahane”, “Kardelen” and the re-released album “Şarkı Söylemek Lazım” were the three best-selling albums in Turkey. In 2005, Aksu was featured in Fatih Akin′s documentary film "Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul" with a performance of the song "Istanbul Hatirasi." She was awarded “Best Turkish Pop Music Female Singer” in the Altın Kelebek 2005 TV Stars Contest.
Aksu has given numerous concerts in Turkey and abroad. She performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2007. In the same year, she was awarded “Best Turkish Pop Music Female Singer” in the Powerturk Music Awards. She released the album “Deniz Yıldızı” through Starfish Records in 2008 and released the album “Yürüyorum Düş Bahçelerinde” in 2009. In 2010, Aksu gave a concert with Fahir Atakoğlu in Stockholm. With the sponsorship of the Turkish Cultural Foundation, Aksu gave concert with Atakoğlu in the United States: the Strathmore Concert Hall in Maryland, the Carnegie Hall in New York and the Prudential Hall in New Jersey.
Albums:
1977, Allahaısmarladık
1978, Serçe
1980, Sevgilerimle
1981, Ağlamak Güzeldir
1982, Firuze
1984, Sen Ağlama
1986, Git
1988, Sezen Aksu′88
1989, Sezen Aksu Söylüyor
1991, Gülümse
1993, Deli Kızın Türküsü
1995, Işık Doğudan Yükselir
1996, Düş Bahçeleri
1997, Düğün ve Cenaze
1998, Adı Bende Saklı
2000, Deliveren
2002, Şarkı Söylemek Lazım
2003, Yaz Bitmeden
2005, Bahane
2005, Bahane Remixes
2005, Kardelen
2008, Deniz Yıldızı
2009, Yürüyorum Düş Bahçeleri′nde...
Acting / Musicals:
1982, Sezen Aksu Aile Gazinosu, (Sezen Aksu Family Music Hall)
1986, Bin Yıl Önce, Bin Yıl Sonra, (1000 Years Before, 1000 Years Later)
Reference: sezenaksu.com.tr, wikipedia.org, sezen-aksu.com
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