Funny girl releases a serious music record
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Çetin Cem Yılmaz
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 21, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Longtime DJ, part-time journalist and full-time mother, Ayça Şen adds singer/songwriter to her CV. Despite her funny stage persona, her debut ’Astronot,’ surprisingly, deals with more serious issues like life, love, getting old and popular culture
For someone known for her witty conversation, telephone jokes and ironic remarks, Ayça Şen’s debut album is likely to come as a surprise.
After more than a decade of building a reputation for developing her unique way of humor on her radio shows, TV programs or newspaper columns, Şen is releasing her first debut record "Astronot," which does not hit the lighter notes of her previous work. Unlike her morning show on Virgin Radio and daily column at Radikal, "Astronot" reveals a more serious side of Şen.
In her first record, which is a result of four years of carefree work with popular Turkish rock band Mor Ve Ötesi’s bassist Burak Güven, she sings about what life could possibly hold for one person in the metropolitan life: love, heartbreaks, getting old, or pop culture. Yes, her followers already know a lot about her; from what she likes to do on a weekend to details about her beloved son Memo, but still, "Astronot" may be her most revealing work to date, although its running time of just 45 minutes is very short compared to the decade of work she has put out.
Talking and writing on herself
However, 35-year-old Şen feels that this was not a new thing for her, as she was always talking and writing about herself. "I usually write about myself in the newspaper, maybe not in radio shows but I always tell stories about my life on paper," she said.
"I think that is something very common in our generation. We talk a lot about ourselves, maybe because we are not that talented in writing."
That small statement tells a lot about how Şen approaches life. She is not one to take herself too seriously, and even though she is talking about important things, she allows for comedy interudes. That is why Şen believes "Astronot" is not just an album of serious lyrics. "I feel there are some ironic things, I like things with a twist to them," she said. "Yes, it is not a comedy album, but this is me. I am a person with a lot of humor in her, I am a person of funny talk."
As the record is being released Mor Ve Ötesi’s own label Rakun Müzik, the band’s vocalist Harun Tekin was one of the first to hear it. He feels that the album will be come as a surprise to people expecting a purely hilarious content.
Surprises are not limited to the lyrics. The sophisticated production work carried out by Burak Güven presents a sonic palette that is open to as many genres as possible. For example, the first single "Son Zamanlarda" starts out as a soft pop song with humdrum electronic beats, and evolves into a disco song thanks to a funky bass line and even takes its time for a passage of heavy metal through the end. "Kalpsizsin" is more of a Brit-pop song reminiscent of the 1990s and "Oryantal," whicn is destined to be a hit with its sharp criticism towards degeneracy in pop culture and catchy chorus, stands out with oriental rhythms. Şen modestly gives credit to Güven and sound engineer Serkan Hökenek for that variety, as they worked like a three-piece group.
"They had the final word in production, they know me and we all like similar stuff in music," she explained. "In some cases we had different thoughts, but even then I left the final decision to Burak, and saw that he was right."
That might seem odd for a singer/songwriter but on the sincerely personal record "Astronot", it is apparent that both Şen and Güven has made all the right decisions.
After more than a decade of building a reputation for developing her unique way of humor on her radio shows, TV programs or newspaper columns, Şen is releasing her first debut record "Astronot," which does not hit the lighter notes of her previous work. Unlike her morning show on Virgin Radio and daily column at Radikal, "Astronot" reveals a more serious side of Şen.
In her first record, which is a result of four years of carefree work with popular Turkish rock band Mor Ve Ötesi’s bassist Burak Güven, she sings about what life could possibly hold for one person in the metropolitan life: love, heartbreaks, getting old, or pop culture. Yes, her followers already know a lot about her; from what she likes to do on a weekend to details about her beloved son Memo, but still, "Astronot" may be her most revealing work to date, although its running time of just 45 minutes is very short compared to the decade of work she has put out.
Talking and writing on herself
However, 35-year-old Şen feels that this was not a new thing for her, as she was always talking and writing about herself. "I usually write about myself in the newspaper, maybe not in radio shows but I always tell stories about my life on paper," she said.
"I think that is something very common in our generation. We talk a lot about ourselves, maybe because we are not that talented in writing."
That small statement tells a lot about how Şen approaches life. She is not one to take herself too seriously, and even though she is talking about important things, she allows for comedy interudes. That is why Şen believes "Astronot" is not just an album of serious lyrics. "I feel there are some ironic things, I like things with a twist to them," she said. "Yes, it is not a comedy album, but this is me. I am a person with a lot of humor in her, I am a person of funny talk."
As the record is being released Mor Ve Ötesi’s own label Rakun Müzik, the band’s vocalist Harun Tekin was one of the first to hear it. He feels that the album will be come as a surprise to people expecting a purely hilarious content.
Surprises are not limited to the lyrics. The sophisticated production work carried out by Burak Güven presents a sonic palette that is open to as many genres as possible. For example, the first single "Son Zamanlarda" starts out as a soft pop song with humdrum electronic beats, and evolves into a disco song thanks to a funky bass line and even takes its time for a passage of heavy metal through the end. "Kalpsizsin" is more of a Brit-pop song reminiscent of the 1990s and "Oryantal," whicn is destined to be a hit with its sharp criticism towards degeneracy in pop culture and catchy chorus, stands out with oriental rhythms. Şen modestly gives credit to Güven and sound engineer Serkan Hökenek for that variety, as they worked like a three-piece group.
"They had the final word in production, they know me and we all like similar stuff in music," she explained. "In some cases we had different thoughts, but even then I left the final decision to Burak, and saw that he was right."
That might seem odd for a singer/songwriter but on the sincerely personal record "Astronot", it is apparent that both Şen and Güven has made all the right decisions.