Levantine Rhapsody

Having spent the last 15 years collaborating on various international projects, Turkish-born Başar describes her first solo release as an ‘impressionist suite inspired by classical Turkish music.' Combining Western instruments with her mastery of the kanun – which she has played since the age of 11 and given lectures on at respected conservatories – she employs the use of Turkish makam (melodic modes) and Oriental rhythmic cycles to enhance her compositions with layers of rich complexity. Başar is assisted on this album by musicians she met during a residency at the Centre des Musiciens du Monde, a cross-cultural arts incubator in the city of Montréal, where she has lived since 2007.

Multi-genre flautist Guy Pelletier uses a myriad of instruments to endow a charming tunefulness to the sounds of various songbirds in a walk through the forest on ‘Bird Song’ while percussionist Patrick Graham sets the tempo, ranging from contemplative to frenetic, on tracks such as ‘5 à 7’ which sounds like it derives from an ancient Turkish folk song but was actually written by Başar to celebrate the occasion of happy hour in the bars of modern-day Canada.