Marc Sinan

Marc Sinan’s third ECM release is an evocative duo album with Oguz Büyükberber which subtly covers a lot of ground. The German-Turkish-Armenian guitarist and the Turkish clarinetist have worked together in many contexts since meeting in Istanbul in 2009 and Büyükberber previously appeared on Hasretim: Journey to Anatolia, released in 2013. The individual musical directions of the two players have effectively converged from opposite poles: Marc was trained as a classical guitarist in the western European tradition, but has increasingly been drawn to improvisation and Turkish material, while Oguz grew up surrounded by Turkish music, and was originally self-taught before heading for the Amsterdam Conservatory, subsequently making his way as both improviser and composer.

For White, recorded in Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in October 2016 and produced by Manfred Eicher, both musicians provide new music. Sinan’s five-part “Upon Nothingness” includes his musical response to recordings of songs of Armenian prisoners deported to Germany during the First World War. These historic field recordings are woven into the fabric of Sinan’s pieces, which also make liberal use of electronics, blurring the distinction, as he puts it, “between the real and the surreal”. Oguz Büyükberber also contributes a series of linked pieces, “There, I-V”, which incorporate completely written areas, guided improvisation and free playing.