| Art Profile |
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Völkan Öktem was born in Izmir in 1970. He had an interest in music around the age of 7. When he was eleven years old, he started playing the drums with military musicians at the local Officers′ Club. In 1985, he moved to Ankara, where he got a chance to play with many different rock and pop bands, including Alpay, who was one of most famous singers of the time. Öktem also performed at various night clubs, playing a diverse repertoire, including traditional Turkish music. This gave him a chance to develop his understanding of rhythm furthermore and laid the foundations of his personal unique style.
Because of his interest in jazz music, he gravitated towards performing at various jazz gigs, where he played with some of the best musicians, such as pianist Tuna Ötenel and Janusz Szprot. Öktem considered some offers and decided to move to Istanbul in 1994. He performed on more than 100 albums in Istanbul with many different artists, such as Sezen Aksu, Fahir Atakoğlu and Nilüfer. He also played with international musicians and groups at different clubs and concerts around the world. In 1996, Öktem collaborated with 6 other musicians and formed the group "Habbecik", and performed on his first ethnic jazz project. The Habbecik released an album named "An meselesi" and continued playing at music festivals and concerts for several years.
In 1999, he found the Perfect Environment to reflect his unique style, when he and several other musicians formed "Laço Tayfa", which fuses traditional Turkish music with jazz, funk and reggae. They released two albums named "Bergama Gaydası" and "Hicaz Dolap". They performed locally as well as globally at many concerts, such as New York Central Park USA (May 2002) and the 9th International Istanbul Jazz Festival (July 2002). Öktem played with the winner of 2002 Eurovision Song Contest, Sertab Erener at local and global venues. In the meantime, he still participated in various jazz projects, continued working on albums and kept on performing at concerts. Öktem performed on Aşkın Arsunan′s "One a day" album, and also played at the 7th International Istanbul Jazz Festival with Aşkın Arsunan Ethno-Karma Band in July 2000. In July 2004, he played with John Scofield in the 11th International Istanbul Jazz Festival. Furthermore, he played with Bendik Hofseth "Down to Earth" project in İş Sanat Jazz Days in January 2005. In 1996, he and a couple of his good friends formed the jazz fusion group named “Trio Mrio”. Several years later, with the addition of another friend, they released their first album "9 parça (9 singles)" and renamed the group “Quartet Muartet”. Since then they have still worked together and performed at various clubs and concerts. In July 2005, Öktem performed at the 12th International Istanbul Jazz Festival, with Muvaffak "Muffy" Falay and Elvan Aracı, and also played with Istanbul Super band for Dianne Reeves.
Öktem played with Okan Ersan & Istanbul Super band in Leverkusen Jazz Festival in November 2006 and November 2007. He also performed on YAMAHA All Stars Europe in Frankfurt in 2008. In 2009, he played in Aydın Esen Group with Aydın Esen and Selçuk Karaman, in Sunside Jazz Club-Paris. Currently, Öktem works with Tarkan and plays at concerts in many cities in Turkey and Europe. He still continues working on studio recordings in Turkey, as well as performing internationally for various projects.
Reference: volkanoktem.com, drummerworld.com, google.com.tr/images |
