Page 14 - Resonance Magazine - Sezen Aksu

Aksu’s First Job As a Producer

S nce 1984, Aşkın Nur Yeng had worked as a In an nterv ew w th Boom Müz k magaz ne n
back ng vocal st for Sezen Aksu, and Aksu July 1990, Aksu expla ned her v ews on new
produced Yeng ’s debut album. Released n the art sts, say ng:
spr ng of 1990, Sevg l ye qu ckly reached one
m ll on sales. Wh le the album was well-rece ved, My approach s not to block the path of
t also sparked debates. Cr t cs po nted out the newcomers or h nder the r growth; on the
s m lar t es between Aşkın Nur Yeng and Sezen contrary, I do everyth ng I can to help them
Aksu, w th some cla m ng that “Sezen Aksu reach the r full potent al. However, as an art st, I

created her own m tat on” or “she s creat ng also a m to be better than all of them.”
her own compet t on.”
A year after Sevg l ye was released, she also
produced Aşkın Nur Yeng ’s second album,
Hesap Ver.

GÜLÜMSE

A Milestone in Pop Music

The 1990s marked the peak of Sezen Aksu’s mus cal nfluence. Her 1991 album Gülümse was not only one
of the most spec al albums of her career but also became one of the most con c works n Turk sh pop mus c.
Look ng back, t s ev dent that: Gülümse s one of the greatest Turk sh pop albums of all t me. Had t never
been released, Turk sh pop mus c would have taken a very d fferent course. The album was w dely
embraced by aud ences, reach ng 2 m ll on sales and dom nat ng the mus c market n Turkey.

The album’s open ng track, Had Bakalım, was not just a h t of that summer but became one of the b ggest
h ts of all t me. Some even cons der t the “second m lestone” n Turk sh pop mus c h story. H ts, such as
Abone and Şov Yapma, cemented the nfluence of the songwr t ng tr o Aysel Gürel, Onno Tunç, and Garo

Mafyan n the early 1990s, f nally tr gger ng the long-awa ted "pop explos on" n Turkey. Had Bakalım was
soon released n Europe n var ous rem xes and on v nyl, mak ng t the f rst Turk sh song to be off c ally
released and recogn zed abroad n years. Through th s album, Sezen Aksu brought Turk sh mus c nto
European n ghtclubs.

Th s album was also the last one Aksu worked on w th Onno Tunç. Dur ng the record ng process, they had
s gn f cant d sagreements and ntense arguments.

13 scan to access the
Gülümse album