Mikaîl Aslan feat. Cem Erdost Trio

Ostad Mikaîl Aslan is one of the most popular Kurdish musicians. He studied European classical music in Germany – majoring in guitar and minoring in saxophone, while continuing to develop his techniques on the Turkish long-necked lute, the tenbur. His music fuses the influences of his homeland with modern classical elements to create new sounds. To this day, Aslan has remained true to his mother tongue and sings in Zazaic. He thus belongs to the first generation of Kurdish-Zaza artists who are fighting against the disappearance of their own culture. When Turkish troops began forcibly clearing Kurdish villages in 1980, Aslan's family fled to Kayseri. While studying in Malatya, Aslan launched his musical career singing protest songs, which led to a move to Germany in 1994 as he was threatened with prosecution for "singing in a forbidden language." In February 2000 he founded the Mikail Aslan Ensemble in Mainz together with Michael Weil, and Dieter Schmalzried.

In numerous festival appearances and concerts as well as recordings in radio and television, the ensemble found success in Europe, Asia, and North America. Thus, Mikaîl Aslan continues to be committed to a peaceful coexistence of different political and musical cultures. 

Musician: Mikaîl Aslan
Tenbûr: Cem Erdost İleri
E-Bass: Olcay Bozkurt 
Percussion: Sertaç Şanlı