Muhtar Cem Karaca (5 April 1945 – 8 February 2004) was a prominent Turkish rock musician and one of the most important figures in the Anatolian rock movement.
In 1967, he started to write his own music, joining the band Apaşlar (The Rowdies), his first Turkish language group.
In 1969, Karaca and bass-player Serhan Karabay left Apaşlar and started an original Anatolian group called Kardaşlar (The Brothers). In 1972, Karaca joined the group Moğollar (The Mongols) and wrote one of his best-known songs, "Namus Belası".
Karaca and Dervişan sang poetic and progressive songs. In the 1970s, Turkey was dealing with political violence between supporters of the left and the right, separatist movements and the rise of Islamism.
In 1969, Karaca and bass-player Serhan Karabay left Apaşlar and started an original Anatolian group called Kardaşlar (The Brothers). In 1972, Karaca joined the group Moğollar (The Mongols) and wrote one of his best-known songs, "Namus Belası".
Karaca, who wanted to continue his Anatolian beat sound, left Moğollar and started his own band Dervişan (Dervishes) in 1974.
One politician was quoted as saying, "Karaca is simply calling citizens to a bloody war against the state." Dervişan was ultimately dissolved at the end of 1977.
In 1978, he founded Edirdahan, an acronym for "from Edirne to Ardahan"; the westernmost and the easternmost provinces of Turkey.
He recorded one LP with Edirdahan. In early 1979, Karaca left for West Germany for business reasons.
In 1980 he began singing in the German language with the song Nazim Hikmet - Kız Çocuğu (in English: Little girl): Cem performed the German verses alternating with his friend, manager, arranger and bandleader/musician Ralf Mähnhöfer accompanying him on grand piano, solo or with the band Anatology, singing the song in the Turkish language. Turkey continued to spin out of control with military curfews and the 1980 Turkish coup d'état on September 12, 1980.
After some time, the Turkish government decided to strip Cem Karaca of his Turkish citizenship, keeping the arrest warrant active. Several years later, in 1987, the prime minister and leader of the Turkish Motherland Party, Turgut Özal, issued an amnesty for Karaca.
Garland, London 2002, S.
Muhtar Cem Karaca (5 April 1945 – 8 February 2004) was a prominent Turkish rock musician and one of the most important figures in the Anatolian rock movement.
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