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Description

Prestij Müzik Istanbul Turkey was owned by famous ARABESK [Turkish popular music in the style of Arabic Music] singer Mahsun Kırımızıgül. Mahsun is a Kurdish origin artist from the eastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır. Prestij Müzik aimed at eastern Turkish, countryside, or migrant worker audiences. The House of Prestij signed some of the most unique artists the world has ever seen. Mahsun's studios and arrangers created some of the most bizzare and talented East-West musics throwing rapturous rural voices into huge violin and cello compositions. Prestij seems 'hated' by many people who aspire to be 'City People' but the legacy of Mahsun and Prestij Müzik may be difficult to match by comparitively bland contemporary Turkish performers. Hamiyet Sezgin's spectacular video song 'Yanarım' ['I Burn'] is a fabulous example of the creativity and daring to be 'oriental'[!] of Prestij Müzik... Turkey is a complex country with a curious modern history that makes everything 'political', even music. For outsiders to Turkish Society, this Hamiyet Sezgin song is a charming piece of entertainment, but for people in Turkey is has many social, geographical, educational, cultural, class, and political implications that make it simply 'impossible' for some people to be publicly seen listening to...The Turkish issue is not the art...but the politics...difficult for outsiders to understand why this kind of music could present the big political problem Arabesk does in Turkey. ORCHESTRATION THe song is a variation on Western Pop Song FORM [sections over time]: Intro - Verse [TONIC (I) MODULATES to DOMINANT (V)] - Chorus [TONIC (I)] - Bridge [repeat Intro] - Verse (I to V) - Chorus (I). No CODA [end section]. The song is interesting as it is in two parts rather than usual three parts of a pop song. The intro is long and repeated as a middle bridge. The verse is interesting as it starts TONIC (I) ['home' note area 'doh'] and MODULATES [moves from one tonal area to another for variety and sense of the song 'going somewhere'] to DOMINANT (V) area [note five 'soh']. The chorus is back to the TONIC area and the whole thing repeats. The METRE [beats per bar] is four and western in nature. The ENSEMBLE is based upon electronic keyboard with a simplisitic pop backbeat. The keyboard also provides a cello PIZZICATO [strings plucked rather than bowed] for the intro. 12+ Western Violins provide introduction and harsh Arabic-style CADENCES [musical full stops] at the ends of phrases and sections. There has been an interesting experiment of playing keyboard strings along with the real violins to give TONE MASS [thicker sound] - this works but at the expense of a harsh TIMBRE [musical tone that identifies a particular instrument]. A Western ACCORDIAN [bellowed keyboard in detuned octaves] plays in the bridges to give a belly dance sound. Hamiyet Sezgin was hopefully launced by Prestij as 'The New Sibel Can', Sibel Can being a famous blonde Arabesk belly dancing Diva from the 1980s. However, it was not to be. Hamiyet was 'out of her time', the public was growing bored after 20 years of Arabesk plus more urban forces were at work that were transforming Turkey - Thus Prestij Müzik sadly failed and closed. Hamiyet's voice is superb. Female Turkish Arabesk singers after 1970s Belkis Akkale tended to have these low ALTO [low woman] voices. The sound is throaty, low and sensual with a lot of pathos and sadness typical of fateful Arabesk songs. The lyrics are well pronounced and the voice is quite intoxicating. VIDEO The video is superb! So well filmed with lots of different angles and moving shots. The close-ups and face shots are great. Hamiyet is well lit and over-made up like a doll. It is great! Alex the male belly dancer is a throwback from The Ottoman Empire when it was sinful for women to dance, so men did it. A lot of Turkish history and modernity are in the video with the swords and acrobatics. Unfortunately, by 1999 Arabesk was out of fashion and t...