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What is this page? You are visiting my mini-music project called Istanbul-Seattle Project. Back in 2000, I started putting together a silent-studio with mostly simple, commodity equipment. I thought I should experiment with not just playing the instruments but recording parameters as well. Batuhan gets to contribute with tunes and ideas and we'll also have guests now and then. We get together and goof and you guys get to hear it. I am keeping this page up to date with our recent experimentations. Enjoy... Like something, don't...? send me your comments...

The Band?

Cihangir & Batuhan

 

May 2007: Save the World: The sound clip is from one of my all time favorites; fifth element. This tune reminded me the movie so here it is... Enjoy!
# save.wma (ftp)

Jan 2007: Boza: Boza is my favorite winter drink. I got a chance to get some this year so had to name a song after it. I started with the tune and build the rest around it this time. I am still new to delay so bear with me on the "B"... =) Enjoy!
# boza.wma (ftp)
# boza.wma without the solo guitar (ftp)

Oct 2006: Wombastic: I had a visit from the muse for a few weeks again and this is what came out. This is in the same scale as requiem and sifir-alti. It starts of with a heartbeat and bunch of chaos. The A of the song started first as a bass line. The rhythm guitar is there to flavor not to drive for the rest of the song. B has a very poly rhythmic with a 3/4 arpeggio and bass line. To tie it all together the keys are playing basic sustained tones. Batuhan played the keys and I played the bass, guitars and drums. The solo probably took me, by far, the longest amount of time to figure out of all the songs so far. I like the solo at the last loop with a loose playing of the signature melody from the beginning. The second favorite part is the B and the whole rhythm section. In case anyone have any ideas for a better solo, I am including the solo-less mix as well.
# wombastic.wma (ftp)
# wombastic.wma - mixed down with no solo guitar (ftp)

Aug 2006: Requiem: Main idea came up when I was recording Sifir-Alti though I had no idea how to develop this from the 3 parts. I recorded the 3 guitar riffs with a straight rock 4/4 drum track first. That sounded totally dull. After about 15-20 min of fine tuning, with the 'darbuka' like drum pattern, part1 started to sound much better. Finished part1 and part2 off with a fairly vanilla bass on top and added the intro. I wanted intro to sound a little like the old air raid siren. To bake all this together, I rerecorded guitar and bass and drums with all the crescendos in between. For the solo, I started off with a crunchy ton stretching all the way from intro to conclusion. That came off sounding too monotonic. So I ended up with 2 different guitar sounds for part2 and part3. For part2 solo, I shot for a style that sounds like a 'turkish agit – folkloric funeral tune'. Part 3 leading to the conclusion, has a straight forward power solo. Part 2 and 3 solos have one part that is a solo common pattern. A single slide from C#, E and back to D that repeats. Ending is a little rushed but I don't like songs that drag too long.
I lose my ability to judge after so many rounds of listening to the same tune. So give it a listen and let me know what you think.
# requiem.wma (ftp)

May 2006: Sifir-Alti: OK! This one is more on the heavy side and it barrows from the soundtrack of one of my favorite movies - Fight Club. The whole song started with the 3 pieces. All pieces sounded good in different styles and different tempos. I think at the end the way it got pasted together adds well to the phyco feel. We also have a star guest in this composition; Gunes Dikmen plays the flute melody in the middle. Like it? don't?... Send feedback to cihangir@istanbul-seattle.com. BTW, Here is how the project looked in Cubase.
# Sifir-alti.wma (ftp)

Apr 2006: Kebab: Second homegrown piece... Batuhan and I did all the work on compositions and all the playing. I kept this one simple with only one rhythm guitar, bass and drum track. Critiques welcome. This songs remind me of Denetko- a place on the Aegean sea that I spent a lot of summers at. Cool place. Check it out if you happen to stop by this part of the world.

# Kebab.wma (ftp)

 

Mar 2006: Seni Kendime Sakladim: This is my take on the song from Duman. This was an iterative experimentation. I started with a guitar track, moved to bass and drums then went back over the existing tracks and rerecorded to add the new ideas. Apart from the A and B of the original song, I had no idea where this would go when I first started. So what came out is completely random. How is that for a plan?

# Seni Kendime Sakladim.wma (ftp)

 

Dec 2005: Sifir-Besh: This is totally home grown and very very fusion. Batuhan took the lead on this one. I played all you hear except the keys. Batuhan has the keys and most of the composition. The song closed the year for us so the very imaginative name 05. Enjoy and all critiques welcome..

# Sifir-Besh.wma (ftp) 

 

Nov 2005: Yonca: Another tune from Bulent Ortacgil. I love the cord progression on this song. I have 2 arrangements here. I play Guitars, Bass and Drums. Batuhan played keys. Again feedback welcome.

# Yonca1.wma (ftp)

# Yonca2.wma (ftp)

 

Sept 2005: Rain: This is a Bulent Ortacgil song. The song is very plain in the original version... Just a piano and guitar with very naked vocals. The song has a great melody that vocals hum. The original was recorded in 1973-74. I tried a rock ballad sound on this song. The whole song is on 5 channels: drums, guitar-arpeggio, bass, guitar-solo and a shaker. #3 also has keys in the background by Batuhan Biyikoglu. So which one do you like better?..

# Yagmur2.wma (ftp) Solo Tone

# Yagmur3.wma (ftp) Solo Tone with Keys

 

June 2005: Bir Derdim Var: Recently upgraded to Cubase LE and this is my first project with it. Used 20 channels with a ton of guitar. The original from Mor ve Otesi have a full background with ton of keys. I started to seriously experiment with the EQ for the first time. One (of many) big problems is the song sounds great on headphones but on cheap computer speakers it sounds entirely different. I am hoping EQ will help me to get around that. Ihaaaghh! So much to learn... Again incomplete work but thought I share nonetheless.

# Bir Derdim Var.wma (ftp)

 

There is more: Go to view older material

 

Quick History: I am a late starter, I was a senior in high school when I picked up the drums. A few close friends (Aydin and Soner) introduced me to paradiddles and it was all downhill from there. From 1988 to 1992, I spend a lot of time with "Red", my second band. Then moved onto bar/cover bands performing in Istanbul-Beyoglu/Ortakoy (Kemanci, JazzStop etc). In 1992, I took up the offer from Bulutsuzluk Ozlemi, my last pro band. Recorded a live album, Yasamaya Mecbursun, in 1995 and finally quit music altogether to focus back on software. I never got rid of the bug however... I still spend fair amount of time playing. Here is what I am using;

 

    Drums: VDrums TD10

    Bass: Ibanez SR300

    Guitar: Ibanez RG Series

    Processor: GuitarPort

    Recording: Cubasis and Tascam US-122

    Mixing: Behringer UB2222Fx with 12 Channel

    Headphone Amp: Behringer Powerplay Pro-8 for 8 headphone output

 

Visit the jukebox to see what I choose to listen.