Eda And: “Augmented Life”
Z Kalan (2018)
Production: Z Müzik / Nilüfer Saltık
Recording: Istanbul Hayyam Studios, Yaşar University
Recording Engineers: Hayyam Studios: Sinan Sakızlı, Can Aykal, Ceylan Akçar
Yaşar University Studios: Mehmet Can Özer
Mix & Mastering: Mehmet Uğur Memiş
Photos: Karsten Kiss (Licht & Linie), Aykut Uslutekin
Graphical Design: Negrican Birlik
Eda And (p)
Sibel Köse (vo)
Yahya Dai (as, EWI)
Serdar Barçin (flt, alto flt, as)
Engin Recepoğulları (ts, ss)
Volkan Hürsever (b)
Volkan Öktem (d)
Türker Çolak (perc)
Izmir Jazz Strings:
Can Güçkan (violin)
Çağlar Haznedaroğlu (violin)
Ziya Güçkan (viola)
Serdar Mamaç (cello)
1. Hamburg Medley
2. Nine Eight Blues
3. Haus Ballade
4. Augmented Life
5. Jazz Fantasie / Fantasie Impromptu
6. İzmir Ballade
7. Oyun
There have been times in my life where I split my years into different phases and assign different colors to those. Maybe you have had similar experiences. My “grey” high school years, wasted away thinking “Enrol in a university, wait and see what will happen, new doors will open, a new life awaits you” instead of possibly being productive, my “red and orange” university life that lasted 4 years but felt more like 10 seconds, and my “blue” business life that still has its own ups and downs…
Eda And entered my life with a greeting and found a place between my colors that expand through this range with the brightest shade of “white”. Her album “Augmented Life” views life from different angles and allows you to see all the colors within and outside the range and for your soul to travel to the deepest corners of your psyche as you have struggled to do for years within this richness of color.
After listening to the album from start to finish several times without making any detailed analyses like “This piece is like this, that piece is like that, this musician played such way during this piece”, I realize that I have spent a lot of time especially on 2-3 pieces: “Hamburg Medley”, “Nine-Eight Blues” and “Oyun”.
Album’s opening piece “Hamburg Medley” reminds me of Bremen, where I spent 4 years, and Hamburg, a city I frequently visited: Their warm people, joyful Sunday breakfasts, delicious restaurants, their language which never sounded harsh to me, the great jazz clubs, the cold and snowy coast line, colorful night life, festivals, fairs and their fresh air which I don’t imagine ever finding elsewhere for a long time…
Eda And (Photo: Karsten Kiss -Licht & Linie-)
“Nine-Eight Blues” starts with an intro dominated by the orientalist thought with a mystical air to it, embellished by syncopated rhythms as Eda salutes us with a fusion piece that doesn’t stray too far from the classical and modern jazz teachings.
My personal favorite in the album is the last piece “Oyun”. Eda shows her musical vision to her listeners by shaping the classical jazz teachings on rhythm, form, harmony through her own imagination, and presents a magnificent and memorable final that lasts 5 minutes and is a treat for the ears.
One of my favorite aspects about the album is that the listener can read both the album’s and Eda’s stories from the booklet and understand the music even before the notes reach your ears. The fact that Eda is able to gain such a depth of experience that many musicians spend years trying to attain in her young ages is a sign that her creativity knows no boundaries.
If you wish to choose a “soundtrack” for your life that “passes in front of your eyes like a movie”, if you want to hear something that responds to all your emotions, no matter how straightforward or complex, if you happily wonder where your choices will take you and if you wish, in Eda’s own words, those seconds that “we start learning about real life as we understand happiness and pain in depth” to never leave your hearts, Eda And’s first studio album “Augmented Life” with its star-studded team is just for you.
