ZUHAL UZUNDERE
BURSA - Anatolia News Agency
Geoff Carvey has come a long way - in the literal, and figurative, sense - since a vacation in Turkey changed his life. After falling in love with the country and its traditional folk music, Carvey settled in Bursa, changed his name to Cem Kervan and now has three albums of Turkish folk music to his credit
Cem Kervan, an artist who has released three albums of Turkish folk songs, is actually an American, previously named Geoff Carvey, who first came to Turkey as a tourist.
He liked what he saw here so much that he settled in the northwestern city of Bursa and changed his name. A true lover of Turkish folk music, Kervan, 52, is now the owner of a folk-music bar and a recording studio.
Born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, the heart of the American movie industry, Kervan first came to Turkey in 1986, on a trip that has changed the course of his life. Kervan said he had such a good time and was really impressed with the bağlama, a traditional Turkish folk stringed instrument, when he became friends with someone playing it. “He was not playing very well, but it sounded so genuine to me,” Kervan said.
“I visited a music store on my way back to the U.S. and bought 30 Turkish folk music cassettes,” he added. “I enjoyed the cassettes of Arif Sağ the most when I was listening to them. I liked them a lot. I took the bağlama from my friend too and I returned to my country”.
Kervan said he comes from a family of musicians and was making music before he visited Turkey. “I was mystified by Turkey,” he said. “When I returned to the U.S., I told my family that I wanted to live in Turkey and they accepted [this]”. Kervan returned to Turkey in 1987. He was single then, but met his future wife in Istanbul, where they fell in love and married.
“Our children have been born in Turkey. The whole family has dual citizenship,” said Kervan, who has a son named Kaya and a daughter named Ayla. They visit the United States every once in a while to see their grandparents, but Kervan said his children are more comfortable in Turkey because they were born here.
“One does not appreciate the value of the place where he was born and grew up. The fish lives in the sea, but does not know how beautiful the sea is, what else is in it,” Kervan said, explaining the reason why he has chosen to settle in Turkey. “Turkey is a very beautiful country. There are a lot of places to visit and observe. Its people are very warm and genuine; you do not have that in the U.S.”
Kervan added that he sees himself as a Turk from Bursa now.
Of course, Kervan’s love for Turkish folk music is another thing that connects him to Turkey. “The folk songs have very beautiful meanings [behind them]. Their modes and rhythms are so different,” he said. “First, I attended a classical Turkish music course. I learned a lot from that experience. Then I realized that this was not what I wanted”.
What he really wanted was to get involved in the folk music of Turkey. Kervan then hired a bağlama instructor and started to take private lessons. “I was a bit suspicious at first, worrying about whether or not I could play it, because the rhythms and scales were very different,” he said. “However, in the end, either I have adapted to folk music or folk music has adapted to me”.
After overcoming his insecurities about his instrument, Kervan did not settle for just being able to play it; he also started to write his own songs. He described that as a task that required courage because he did not have a background in this type of music. But when he saw that everybody who listened to his songs enjoyed them, he decided to continue on this path.
Kervan’s first album, “Dem Geldi Dem” (The Time Has Come), consists of 10 songs written entirely by him, both the music and the lyrics. Its follow-up, “Şaha Doğru Giden Kervan” (The Caravan Going to the King), was a collection of covers of his favorite Turkish folk songs. His recently released third effort, “Şahın Yücelecek Saati Geldi” (The Falcon Will Soar, Its Hour Has Come), once again features Kerevan’s compositions and lyrics in its 19 tracks.
Kervan said he takes inspiration from spiritual themes while composing his songs. He takes the stage at various locations in Turkey, including festivals, mourning ceremonies and special occasions, and says he intends to write more songs. “Even if I quit music, it would not quit me,” he said, adding that he will continue to be involved in music, not only through his own albums but the bar he owns, where poetry and folk music events are organized. “We will continue to house various activities,” Kervan said. “We wanted to create a nice environment. We are helping youth in our recording studio too”.
The musician even gave a bağlama as a gift to his brother Chris, who is in the movie soundtrack business in the U.S. Kervan said his brother sometimes plays the bağlama for the songs he compose for the movies, if only a little bit.
Hürriyet Daily News
