"They were also very active in the opposition against the use of nuclear energy in Turkey".

The Spin

Mor ve Otesi (translated as Purple and Beyond) are Turkish alternative rock band hailing from the city of Istanbul. Its current members are Harun Tekin (vocals, guitar), Kerem Kabadayi (drums), Burak Guven (bass) and Kerem Ozyegen (guitar).

The band was established in January of 1995 with a slightly different line up by Kerem Kabadayi, Harun Tekin, Derin Esmer (vocals/guitar) and Alper Tekin (bass) - four close high school friends in Istanbul, Turkey. Their first album Sehir was recorded and mixed between August 1995 and January 1996, and was released in June 1996 by Ada Muzik.

1997 was an important year for the band. It saw their first show outside their hometown in the capital Ankara at ODTU (Middle East Technical University). It was also the year the first line-up change took place with Burak Guven replacing Alper Tekin. In 1998, the band began working on their next album. The album Birak Zaman Aksin was recorded by their long-time school mate and sound-engineer Volkan Gurkan. After the process, Derin Esmer left the band and was replaced by Kerem Ozyegen. The album was released on March 1999, once again, by Ada.

After the devastating 1999 Kocaeli earthquake, Mor ve Otesi started playing more on social and political themes. They were also very active in the opposition against the use of nuclear energy in Turkey. In July, the band recorded a song, "Sen Varsin", to be included on a tribute album for the legendary Turkish protest singer Bulent Ortacgil. They closed the year with their most important performance to date, opening for Placebo at the H2000 festival in Istanbul on December 9.

The third album Gul Kendine was once again recorded and produced by Volkan Gurkan, and released in December 2001. The promo tour for the album was also the bands first proper nationwide tour, and the closing concert in Istanbul drew upwards of 5000 people. Receiving wide critical acclaim, the show was regarded by the media as a musical treasure and an audio-visual extravaganza.

In 2003, Mor Ve Otesi joined in for various anti-war activities by artists of all kinds, and composed the anthemic "Savasa Hic Gerek Yok". The song was performed in Ankara on March 1, along with fellow musicians in front of a crowd of 100.000 people.

In May of the same year band released an EP called Yaz. Its opener, a rock style cover of the popular 1990 classic "Yaz Yaz Yaz" became the countrys summer anthem. The band followed the success of this single with another nationwide tour which saw some unprecedented attendance numbers. In Autumn, the band started writing their next album while working on the soundtrack for a film called Mustafa Hakkinda Hersey. A song from this soundtrack, "Bir Derdim Var", was also to be the third single from the forthcoming album Dunya Yalan Soyluyor, and brought the band the prestigious Altin Portakal (Golden Orange) Award at the acclaimed International Antalya Film Festival for Best Song for a Motion Picture.

A new producer, the renowned bass player Tarkan Gozubuyuk, was chosen for the album, and work began in January 2004. The album hit the stores on May 1, 2005 and attained incredible early sales figures, becoming a platinum-selling rock album, and the song received huge airplay from both TV and Radio stations. The album contained considerable political criticism against the activities of the USA both in Iraq and the rest of the world. Song "Bir Derdim Var", was not only arguably the most popular rock song to date in Turkey, but was also championed as Song of the Year by musical authorities and fans alike. The commercial success of the album which reached 250.000 units in sales was complemented by a very busy and expansive touring schedule. The band played about 150 shows to date since the release of the album, sharing its songs live with large audiences nationwide, and the experience enabled the band to become a rock-solid live performance act.

The bands last international foray for the year 2005 was a strong performance at Simdi Stuttgart, an international music festival that took place in Stuttgart, Germany in November. Video for the song "Uyan" reached the 1 spot on MTVs World Chart Express. The video was re-edited from an animation created by Andrei Khrjanovsky in 1968 which was shelved by Soviet censors when it came out.

The band released their fifth album titled Buyuk Dusler on May 9 2006. This is an album mainly dealing with the political problems of Turkey and the personal problems of the group members, including loss of family members and their relationships. It has a darker sound compared to their previous albums. Mor Ve Otesi tour Europe (heavily in Germany) and the West Coast in the U.S. in autumn to wrap up the year.

The Singer
 

 

The Past
  
Sertab couldn't have happened to Turkey at a better time. During futile attempts of the nation to sally forward for EU membership, along came a 4 foot toothy curiosity who did more for their cause in 3 minutes than the whole government had achieved in the preceding 10 years... maybe. 2003 saw the first victory for Turkey in what until that point had basically been a shameful experience. Sebnem Paker (not Lady Penelope's chauffeur, there's no "r") had miraculously come fairly close, but apart from that occasion even Portugal were becoming jealous of their pitiable challenges to bring attention to the nation "where East meets West". Their successful hosting in 2004 changed all that, and putting aside politics for a moment, and instead embracing bad European music, we welcome Turkey with open arms.

 

The Song

An interesting video from this band who reading from West to East seem to be big on each side of the Bosphorus. The promo consists of the band holding sway in a big warehouse, moshing their way through this passable irregularity. There's huge clay faced grotesques everywhere, but enough about the band. Ho ho. No really there's 20 feet high carnival dolls peppered around, looking like they've sat through two weeks of Eurosong rehearsals. A band member swings off the rafters, but don't attempt the difficult "Horn" manoeuvre. Very wise.
Special effects kick in near the end, with the statues coming alive with technological wizardry not seen since Mant graced our screens. Finally the band turn to clay. Happy ending!

Overall

So expect mild fireworkage and scary gargoyles.

   
 
 
   
   
 
 

Deli

Araniyor sahibi ruhumun
Tam yerine mi düstüm
Direniyor faili tutkunun
Kizmis ve küçülmüs
Araniyor sahibi ruhumun
Tam yerine mi düstüm
Direniyor
Direniyor
Direniyor..

Beni büyütün
Aglatmayin
Sevginiz nerde
Övündügünüz
Beni büyütün
Aglatmayin
Sahte düslerle
Oyalamayin

Bir yarim akilli bir yarim deli
Dört yanim akilli bir yanim deli
Herkes akilli bir ben deli
Bir ben deli..

Beni büyütün
Aglatmayin
Sevginiz nerde
Övündügünüz
Beni büyütün
Aldatmayin

sahte düslerle..

Insane

The owner of my soul is looked for
Did I land in the right place?
The perpetrator of my passion is resisting
He's angry and diminished

The owner of my soul is looked for
Did I land in the right place?
He's resisting, resisting, resisting

Raise me, don't make me cry
Where's the love you're proud of?
Raise me, don't make me cry
Don't waste my time with fake dreams

The owner of my soul is looked for
Did I land in the right place?
The perpetrator of my passion is resisting
He's angry and diminished

The owner of my soul is looked for
Did I land in the right place?
He's resisting, resisting, resisting

Raise me, don't make me cry
Where's the love you're proud of?
Raise me, don't make me cry
Fake dreams

I'm one half sane, one half insane
I'm four sides sane, one side insane
Everybody is sane, only I am insane
Only I am insane, only I am insane

Raise me, don't make me cry
Where's the love you're proud of?
Raise me, don't make me cry
Don't waste my time with fake dreams

Prediction Semi Final 2 2nd
Final 3rd