Mercan Dede
Ancient Sufi melodies meet modern dancefloor pulses. Breathy wooden flutes and hypnotic hand drums layered over deep, liquid electronic grooves for spiritual focus.
Ancient Sufi melodies meet modern dancefloor pulses. Breathy wooden flutes and hypnotic hand drums layered over deep, liquid electronic grooves for spiritual focus.
Imagine the sound of a 500 year old wooden flute echoing through a futuristic, neon lit terminal. Mercan Dede creates a bridge between the sacred traditions of the Ottoman Empire and the sleek, rhythmic pulse of contemporary global electronica. It is music that feels both grounded in the earth and suspended in the stars, utilizing the hypnotic repetition of Sufi dervish ceremonies to create a modern trance state.
What sets him apart is the genuine integration of his tools. He does not just slap a beat under a sample; he performs as a DJ and a ney player simultaneously, treating the turntable as a traditional instrument and the flute as a digital oscillator. The result is a dense, liquid texture where the scratch of a record and the breathy rasp of the flute become indistinguishable from one another.
Start with the album 800, a tribute to the poet Rumi. It perfectly captures his ability to weave together soaring vocal guest spots, intricate zither melodies, and deep, sub-bass movements. It is the ideal gateway for anyone who wants to feel the weight of history and the lightness of the future at the same time.
Mercan Dede (born Arkın Ilıcalı, 1966), also known as DJ Arkin Allen, is a Turkish-Canadian composer, ney and bendir player, DJ, and producer. He is a world music artist, playing a fusion of traditional acoustic Turkish and other oriental styles with electronic sounds. Dede has worked in collaboration with Turkish and international musicians, such as Susheela Raman, Azam Ali, Dhafer Youssef, Sheema Mukherjee (Transglobal Underground), and Hugh Marsh.
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