Dear reader, Alright, maybe so far I haven't been formal on that blog page that I devoted for my senior course "Multimedia Journalism". I've been through a lot lately both in my personal life and school life that's why I couldn't reach the limits that I wanted to pop up here derived from my inner source. Music's always been into my life. Every single time when I feel depressed or any other negative adjectives that I can add here... music was always there to be with me... I cannot deny that. I realized that music, actually rock music was always somewhere around into my life as a bridge through my wishes and obstacles... It was there for remedy, cure... There were the times that I was into the music with my whole body which made me save through the dark times. I can accept that I couldn't be myself if there wasn't rock music. Through it I found the stories that wasn't told myself, I heard the stories that derived from others and their lives which is very special to me... And I found invaluable friends who were also keen to making/listening music which grabbed us on the same bridge. I truly believe that I will cherish all songs that I found in my journey through the friends, people, places that I love... And I have to thank to the people who believe in me for the first place to create that blog... I'd really appreciate Muge Mengü Hale's and Ufuk Önen's help in the process of that blog... Farewell...
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80's, 90's, and the capital of Turkey, Ankara...
In those years Ankara was more than about being the capital city. It had soul and offered prosperity for the young residents who were keen on creating their rock/metal bands to sing not only in Turkey but also abroad... We are talking about Hazy Hill, the legendary thrash metal band of 80's and 90's. I have been their fan through my dear instructor Ufuk Önen, who happened to be the brain of this band, and watching his documentary "Black, Not Gray:Ankara Rocks!" convinced me that I also should share this extraordinary story with you... As you will listen to Ufuk Önen talking about this musical experience you will also have notion about those times of Ankara. So, be ready to read, watch and listen to this great journey of that legendary band through the his musical perspective. I am sure that you'll be also fan of these successful musicians who were shining through the darkness of Ankara... While the residents of Ankara were fogged in the city due to its famous dark and cold weather, there were some who were able to see through the darkness and clear the mist... Ufuk Önen and his friends, a group of young professionals who were deeply enthusiastic about their love for rock and metal gathered in all of their free time to form their extraordinary band. The thrash band "Hazy Hill" was formed in 1988, and swept the music circles by wind right after they produced their first single, or as they call it, extended play (EP) Murky Bedlam... In that era, Önen and his friends were astoundingly fruitful in their genre though they had many obstacles. They lacked significant budget to the extent that they had to wait for one and a half years to afford the production of their first record, because they could not afford a recording studio to record their songs. But those difficulties couldn't hinder their passion and eagerness about the music that they wanted to create... Actually, it was those difficulties enabled them to create some sort of resistance to the obstacles that they had. During this early period, they had their rehearsals in spaces such as in a coal bunker in the neighborhood, full of old and inadequate equipments. But they always wanted to record their songs in such a high quality which was the sole aim of the band. That perfectionism thrust them to meet Ümit Eroğlu the owner of Studio Ankara... Though they had not enough money to record their songs in Studio Ankara they started to save their pocket money for recording. After they had enough money to record in the studio, they started to live their dreams... Thanks to the cooperation of Eroğlu the band had a chance record their songs in a very high quality that enabled them to put their songs forward throughout both in Turkey and abroad. In that sense they recorded their most invaluable song which is called "Murky Bedlam". Working with the high end musician and arranger Hazy Hill was promoted as a first rock/metal band in abroad thanks to their first demo/ep which is called "Murky Bedlam". Though their first ep was very successful in Europe it wasn't broadcast in Turkey due to the strict restrictions regarding the rock music and its content... Then, Önen and his friends started to send their ep to the independent radio stations, magazines and record companies. While they were staging concerts both Turkey in Europe their reputation was mushroomed suddenly. Thanks to Murky Bedlam and its success Hazy hill was the first Turkish metal band which had a chance to broadcast their ep and other songs within the album of "Murky Bedlam"... And now I introduce you to Ufuk Önen is talking about his journey with Hazy Hill and their most reputable ep Murky Bedlam...
You may read full script of audio slide from here. After the audio slide you may also listen their legendary ep "Murky Bedlam" to have an idea about their approaches to the music and also their genre.
And now Ufuk Önen is a very reputable instructor at Bilkent University. In that sense he gives lectures about Sound Design, Music and Media and Visual Communication Project. He is the producer, composer and audio recording engineer who is also passionate about writing books regarding sound design and its technologies. For more information you can check his personal website.
And you can listen my favorite song, Irony Side, from them.
Well, most of the time music is our remedy for the problems that we encounter in our daily lives. Every single person has their individual tastes regarding music while they are chilling that's why I always wanted to ask my college friends about which rock bands they want to see in May Fest. The survey process was a bit hard to do because the friends that I asked about their musical tastes and bands that they wanted to see in May Fest were generally same which made me exhausted. But somehow there were some people who are keen to listen to different rock bands that are peculiar to specific genres which also made me hopeful about the future of Bilkenters. As a senior student I can say that Bilkenters and May Fest are known for Pop genre but there are some students who think that pop music is tedious. That's why I made a survey and about hundred Bilkenters have been asked the questions like Which Turkish rock bands do you want to see in May Fest and Which foreign rock bands do you want to see in May Fest which created some sort of odd statistics.
Hey rockers! Today I am gonna show you the heaven that shines through the foggy weather of Ankara. It is a place which is called "Shades" that has been operating by Süleyman Özyıldırım since at the beginning of 90's. The record store that is peciluar to itself is an oasis in Tunalı Street. When you step forward to Tunalı Passage it is not possible to neglect this gem which is the arsenal of old records that are invaluable to the people who love to listen songs on record player. This is a special place for us because the owner of that store has an outstanding knowledge about the music in many genres like rock n roll to classical music. He even knows all the subcategories of those genres which makes him a kind of expert.
When you start the conversation regarding any bands or musician with him he probably has a few or much more notion of those bands/artists. This is a circumtance that makes you comfortable while you are in there because as a human being we have a tendency to share mutual tastes to gratify ourselves. Mr. Özyıldırım and his store is important for the rockers of Ankara as late 80's and 90's are the most fruitful times for rock music because of the rock bands like Dr. Skull, Hazy Hill and Pilli Bebek. Those are the rock bands that were formed in Ankara to revive rock music. In that era Mr. Özyıldırım has helped them to reach the people who enjoy rock music and the people who were not familiar to this music to introduce them. As I understood from my meeting with him and the people who wrote about him and his place I can easily say that he is known for his kindness and hospitality towards to the people who come to the store. When you enter the store your coffee/tea is ready with his warm smile. If you want to buy any records for your record player or have any conversation regarding rock music and its genres this place is for you guys. Whether he does know you or not, he will treat you as a person that he knows you for years like old friends. He is talkative and approachable which makes you to buy at least one record. I have to confess that even I don't have record player I really wanted to buy record for his kindness and courtesy. For Information: 0 312 426 59 00 Adress: Tunalı Hilmi Street, 95/37, 06680 Çankaya/Ankara Hey rockers! Today I am gonna share my favorite rock albums that are top notch of the era of rock music. Since the invention of electric guitar, the music shaped itself forever because of the electric guitar's versatility towards the rock bands' different approaches to the music. From the invention of electric guitar the rock music has been mushroomed that is derived from its core of nature and then become unstoppable! The timeless rock records generally were created by crazy drummers, virtuoso bass players and flamboyant vocals that were peculiar to themselves in the scope of rock music era in 60's and 70's. I always thought that these years that I mentioned at the above are the golden times of rock music because there were lots of great rock bands which tried to become different to serve the people who love rock music. Every single time when I listen this era of rock bands I always realize that the rock bands that are belong to this era were just trying to make their music without the anxiety of earning lots of money. Though there were serious competitons between the rock bands in this era I will try to choose my favorite rock albums. Blue Öyster Cult - Agents Of Fortune |
AuthorYunus Emre Bayu is a student from Bilkent University. He is an all day long rock listener who also loves playing video games and eating good food around the town ArchivesCategories |