Review: Ayhan Sicimoğlu & Latin All Stars @ Babylon

Babylon has always been the perfect place to head to on a Saturday night in Asmalımescit. The venue hosts local artists as well as alternative musicians from around the globe, and invites you to its colorful world full of music and dance. Without a doubt, Babylon is one of my favorite places in town as an arts and culture platform.

Last Saturday, 2 May, I was there to watch Ayhan Sicimoğlu & Latin All Stars perform. It was a remarkable event as it brought together Turkish classical music pieces and classic Latin rhythms, such as Bolero, Salsa, Cha-Cha and Mambo. Doors opened at 10:00 pm, but it took more than an hour for the band to come on stage. It was crowded — but not more so than any other Saturday night. However, I got the feeling that it wasn’t just a random night out for this audience; Ayhan Sicimoğlu, himself, had his own personal fans standing just in front of the stage, and he was talking to them throughout the performance, even giving the microphone to one of them to sing along. There were also a large number of couples who were practicing their salsa moves in balcony and any other free space they could find.

I am also a lover of Latin music and a big fan of Ayhan Sicimoğlu, who is not just a musician but also a traveler, a radio broadcaster, a TV programmer, a businessman and an overall an inspiration for enthusiastic human beings. Before heading to Babylon, I knew that I was going to hear some funk rhythms, a little bit of jazz, much more Latin music and maybe some Turkish covers. But I was surprised when Sicimoğlu brought two young Turkish music students from Istanbul University on stage. One of them was playing a special kind of Kemenche (Kemençe), which is a type of stringed bowed musical instrument used mainly in the Black Sea region to play folk music. The other was playing Qanun (Kanun), a string instrument that is mainly known as a symbol of Ottoman music. Together with the saxophone, electronic guitar and keyboard, they made quite a harmony. Throughout the night, Ayhan Sicimoğlu was telling stories about Cuba, folk instruments, hidden messages in some local songs, how he decided to bring the Qanun and Kemenche to Latin music, and how he met his friends all over the world.

The singer was a young musician from Cuba who has an absolutely beautiful voice (and amazingly can sing in Turkish!) and is a dancer as well. Her energy — and that of the other members of the group– was contagious. Their warmth and friendly approach made me feel like I was watching some friends who gathered to talk, sing, dance, make music, simply share some good times and have fun. They were enthusiastic to play Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s favorite songs, which maybe was a bit too experimental as the singer couldn’t follow the lyrics at some points, but it didn’t overshadow the joyful time we had. I very much enjoyed to listen ”Benzemez Kimse Sana” and ”Mazi Kalbimde Yaradır” with Latin melodies. It seemed like they could play for ages, and they did! When I left at 1:45 am, they were still on stage and killing it.