Embodied Poetry by Mehmet Polat Quartet

Mehmet Polat Quartet

Embodied Poetry

1- Introspection
2- For growth
3- Embodied poetry
4- Ladybird
5- Compassion
6- Diotima
7- Groove stories
8- Landed together
9- Morning smiles
10- Vulnerable gems
11- Four phases
12- Güpegündüz

All compositions by Mehmet Polat.


Band:

Mehmet Polat - ud
Mike Roelofs - piano
Daniel van Huffelen – double bass
Martin Hafizi - drums

Guest musicians:

Gijs Levelt – trumpet, track 7
Vardan Hovanissian – duduk, track 8
Şükrü Kirtiş – ney, track 11

Aftab Records | MP23 www.mehmetpolat.net



This album of 12 new pieces culminates two years of reflecting, creating and composing. Inspired by life’s twists, turns and ever changing rhythms, the album took me down an illuminated path of fully being where I am, as a composer and a human being, and noticing what can be learned and created from that. The recordings that emerged from this period are like a collection of intertwined short stories of survival, growth, adaptation, introspection, grief, acceptance, love, joy and compassion. It’s my sincere hope that these pieces will touch the listener in an emotional way.

Each of the musicians on the album brings an individual musical sensibility, creativity and virtuosity to interpreting and performing the compositions, and collectively they make the whole much more than a sum of the parts. The album features a blend of music styles and traditions that stem from the musical influences that I enjoy and appreciate while performing around the world with my ud.

Although the ud is a melodic instrument, the fact it is plucked gives every note a rhythmical value as well. There is a certain freedom found in diverging from simple time signatures into the complex ‘odd meters’ like the 5/4, 7/4 and 9/8 found in non-Western music. These time signatures are used in most of the songs on this album. The drums and double bass provide the rhythmical fundament for melodic ud, piano, and on selected tracks, also ney, duduk and trumpet. The range of timbres contributed by this rich set of instruments brings out the soul of the melodies and harmonies.


About the pieces:

Introspection is a contemplative peaceful piece that gets colourful and funky as it progresses. It covers the range of emotions represented on this album and in that sense is like a welcome to this song collection.

For growth has influences from Spanish and Persian music. It’s based on a fast 5/8 rhythm, with beat shifts, pauses and expansive moments.

Embodied poetry the so called seed of this piece was a little melody in an Indian raga yaman, which somehow grew into a tree that wasn’t yet imagined at the seed stage.

Ladybird is a fun piece with lots of joy, rich in melodies, rhythmical structure and improvising in jazz and traditional Eastern European styles.

Compassion instills an empathic sense of caring for the other.

Diotima is also the name of my two years old daughter. She was named after the first known female philosopher Diotima from Ancient Greece, teacher of Socrates. The piece connects Mediterranean Musical Traditions from the West and East to Jazz.

Groove stories with its 5/4 rhythm and backbeats, this is a funky song featuring trumpet playing by Gijs Levelt Influences from Spanish music and jazz abound, and that means virtuosity, adventure and melancholy all mixed up into one.

Grounded together featuring renowned Armenian duduk player Vardan Hovanissian, this piece gives a sense of awareness of an old memory, a feeling that must have been known before, a story that sounds familiar.

Morning smiles a positive, calm piece with Persian style melodies, in a Western major key and to the beat of a Turkish 9/8 rhythm. The ud interpolates with a solo improvisation on a beautiful Indian raga, Charukeshi.

Vulnerable gems in this crazy and materialistic world, remaining a sensitive artist or simply a human can be a painful thing; the melancholy of this piece helps embraces vulnerability and turns it into power.

Four phases four musical ideas can be heard in this piece, which features the colourful sound of the ney played by ney virtuoso Şükrü Kirtiş.

Güpegündüz Meaning 'bright daylight' in Turkish, this is a title suited to a piece that’s light, smooth, funky and culturally open minded.

–––––

Recorded at Wedge View Studios
Edited & pre mixed by Frank Jonas
Mixed & mastered by Alex Geurink
Photos by Ali Çağlar Erdoğan
Album artwork by Vilie Manoli

Made possible by funding from SENA Performers Music Production Fund, Performing Arts Fund NL , Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Het Investeringsfonds Muziek and dozens of music loving crowdfunders.

Mehmet Polat is an ud player, composer, ensemble leader and soloist who tours internationally. From Africa to India, Persia to the Balkans, Contemporary to Jazz, he has been combining various musical genres with his Alevi Spiritual, Anatolian Folk and Ottoman classical music background. With this new left hand technique, he can play more advanced and modern pieces.

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