Sibel Tüzün
Kirmizi

«Kirmizi» (red) is the fifth album by Sibel Tüzün, a renowned and versatile Turkish singer.

After debuting with two distinctly ethno-folk albums, Tüzün successfully ventured into rock-grunge around the late nineties and early 2000s with two albums: "Hayat Buysa Ben Yokum Bu Yolda" (reviewed here) and "Yine Yalnizim," but in this work, the artist returns to the ethnic-sentimental style, and she does so in grand fashion. She appears to have grown enormously compared to her first two albums in this genre, more aware and meticulous. The album was conceived as a collection of duets with various artists from the Turkish music scene, but due to numerous issues arising from difficult negotiations between record labels, they opted for a solo work. The album opens with the title track «Kirmizi» [sample], a piece with gentle and sensual rhythms, imbued with sounds characteristic of Anatolian music. The warm and deep voice and passionate interpretation by Sibel Tüzün make this track one of the most famous in her repertoire, which ranges from ethnic to dance, passing through rock and pop. It is followed by another milestone in Tüzün's career, "Hakikaten" (truly) [sample], less sensual and more romantic and dreamy, where the artist steps into the shoes of the "village belle" asking her admirer to promise her true love, respect, and fidelity ("Hakikaten sever misin beni?" - «Will you truly love me sincerely?»). The use of violins, guitars, and percussion is admirable, making the piece incredibly pleasant with a vaguely retro taste.

"Yediveren Gülü" opens sweetly and calmly, gradually becoming more compelling and ending in a flurry of percussion, choirs, and very entertaining vocal trills. However, the most beautiful track on the album, in my opinion, is «Nihayet» (finally) [sample]. Sibel gives her best here, with a warm and measured voice, never rough virtuosity, sensual yet never vulgar tone. The percussion, handled by Mustafa Süder, and the guitars by Burak Gültekin, give the piece a warm atmosphere that conjures thoughts of the sunny and intriguing Aegean coasts of Turkey. Emotions are the common thread across all the songs on the album, undoubtedly the most reflective and introspective of Sibel Tüzün's career. This is followed by other beautiful tracks, such as «Canim Isterse» (where the singer launches into a series of challenging trills that never disappoint the listener), «Kiymetlim», with distinctly Mediterranean sounds that recall not only Turkish coasts but especially Sicilian ones in their tonalities, and then «Sikayet», «Pesindeyim» and «Kalbim Hediye Sana», always in the ethnic-sentimental genre. Different is «Yagmur», where the more modern and dance incursions begin to appear, which will characterize the subsequent EP titled «Kipkirmizi», culminating in the single «Süper Star» in 2006 with which Tüzün represented Turkey in that year's Eurovision Song Contest, and the last two singles (summer 2008) «Aç Telefonu» and «Yaz Aski». The album closes with the Greek language version of «Kirmizi» («Agapi Kokini») and some remixes.

A truly beautiful work, meticulously crafted, sensual, to be listened to with closed eyes to let yourself be lulled by the ethnic sounds, rhythms and the warm and deep voice of the incredibly talented Sibel Tüzün.