Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Mystical Garden

A supremely soft musical carpet where one can lie down and be overwhelmed by the mysticism of Arabic and Middle Eastern sounds, this is "Mystical Garden," an album by the Turkish multi-instrumentalist Omar Faruk Tekbilek.

Born in Gebroen in 1951, Tekbilek showed an inclination for music from a young age, encouraged by his flautist brother, and deepened through his work, after school afternoons, in an instrument shop owned by his uncle in the small town of Adanali. A town he would leave at the age of 17 to move to Istanbul, where he trained as a professional, thanks also to encounters with many already established Turkish musicians (including percussionist Tonguc Burhan, singers Ahmet Sezgin, Nuri Sesiguzel, and Mine Kosan, flautist and saxophonist Ismet Siral).
At 20, he has his first contact with the United States (where he still resides) as a member of a folk band, a journey that would allow him to meet Suzan, his future wife. However, he has to return to his homeland shortly after to fulfill his military service, which prevents him from returning to the USA until 1976. When this happens, he marries and moves to the States, but the opportunities for a Turkish musician are fewer than 5 years earlier. A period of odd jobs begins, and with his brother-in-law, an Egyptian keyboardist, and a Greek bouzouki player, he forms a pop band ("I Sultani"), with whom he releases several albums, moving more and more towards a folk-ethnic sound. But the real breakthrough comes from meeting Brian Keane in 1988, who mixes the synth and his own "modern" guitar expertise, as well as his producing skills, with Tekbilek's Middle Eastern sounds.

Tekbilek thus also completes his technical perspective, and from a virtuoso percussionist, he becomes a true "musical polyglot," learning the art of the baglama (the typical long-necked Turkish lute), the bendir, the barduka, and the Arab lute (the oud). He also plays the nay (bamboo flute) and the zurna (an instrument similar to a double oboe) very well, becomes known for his composition skills, and collaborates with world-renowned artists; among the numerous collaborations are Simon Shaheen (Palestinian, master of lute and violin), jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, and Australian percussionist and composer Michael Askill. 

By Tekbilek's own admission, his music aims to open a window on Sufism, the mystical side of Islam, which the artist formally studied in a religious school to become a cleric until he left his studies for music at 15, but he never abandoned his mystical-religious readings.
"Mystical Garden" thus offers an excellent mix of Turkish, Arab, and Egyptian musicality, harmoniously amalgamated with a profound awareness of the divine that exudes in every relaxing and magical passage of this album. The multi-ethnic ensemble that constitutes the crew of this journey between notes and dreams includes the already mentioned Brian Keane, Ara Dinkjian on lute, Hassan Isikkut on the traditional Arab zither kanun, and Armenian Arto Tuncboyaciyan on percussion.
Far be it from me to propose a track-by-track (absolutely pointless in an album where the episodes are united by a single thread, music as a vehicle of knowledge and mystical romance), I mention the beautiful opening track "Other Side Of The River" (composed by percussionist Arto), the title track where rising percussion joins a poignant flute in the middle and takes center stage at the end of the piece, and "Egyptian Dance" enjoyable and lighthearted, composed by Tekbilek himself.

A mystical garden where one can lie down, relax, and get lost inside oneself.