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Muhtelif – Zümrüdüanka

Muhtelif, founded in Istanbul in 2014 and continuing their work in Berlin since 2019, shared their second single called “Zümrüdüanka” with a video clip compiled from news footage documenting social movements and democratic struggles in Turkey over the past decade. The video contains many hopeful scenes from recent history, including the Gezi Park protests, International Women’s Day marches, Pride parades, and environmental movements. The group announced the song on social media with the following statement:

“We hope that this song amplifies the voices of those who believe in another world where justice, freedom, and peace are possible, and who fight to create such a world.”

 

LYRICS

Leave behind the winter’s darkness drear

Let spring weave on and banish fear

As sunbeams dance upon your face

And sweet pomegranates reveal their grace

A stranger’s heart, open wide with empathy

A touch that dwindles pain, a healing synergy

As you croon, a tender melody takes flight

Amplifying your call, with passion to unite

Conceal your wound, paint over the gloom

Let the dove ascend across the vast sky room

Phoenix soars high, beating strong its wings

A new history starts, as today brings

şarkı sözleri

Bırak kalsın kışı kara gölgende

Örsün ağını yazbahar

Güneşle yıka, güneşe dön yüzünü

Bal olur ah dilinde nar

Açar gönlünü o el, hiç bilmediğin

Ufalır avucunda acın

Ilık bir nağmesi olur söylediğin

Sesini büyüten şarkının

Kırmızını sar, siyahını boya

Beyazını sür, maviye uzan

Kanadı çarpar Zümrüdüanka

Bugün çok aldanıyor zaman

Founded in 2015 in Istanbul, now based in Berlin, Muhtelif performs a wide range of music in Turkish, Greek, Arabic and Armenian from traditional to popular, 70s to present. “muhtelif”, which is the Arabic word for “discordant, fluxional”, over time turned out to be used as “various” in Turkish. True to this name, the band builds its repertoire out of the songs seemingly “discordant and fluxional” so to emphasize the musical concord of different languages and cultures of Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Muhtelif is formed by the historian and Europe in the Middle East – the Middle East in Europe (EUME) fellow Nurcin Ileri (voice), Sevda Hamzacebi (clarinet), Penelope Gkika (violin), Ufuk Elik (saz), Cem Dinler (piano), Wataru Saito (double bass) and Can Tufekcioglu (drums): seven versatile musicians each of whom has multiple projects of different genres which becomes a fine contribution to the cultural blend and the musical narrative the band attempts to pursue.

Muhtelif’s members have migrated to Berlin from Turkey, Japan, and Greece in recent years, and they perform popular and traditional songs from Anatolia and the wider Eastern Mediterrean Region on stage with accompanying stories. The group, who continues to give concerts in various cities in Germany, especially in Berlin, released their first single called “Samsa” in 2017, which refers to the main character of Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”.

© Muhtelif

OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Forum Transregionale Studien (May 12, 2023). Muhtelif – Zümrüdüanka. TRAFO – Blog for Transregional Research. Retrieved April 28, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/ut6x


Forum Transregionale Studien

The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien promotes the internationalization of research in the humanities and social sciences. It provides scope for collaboration among researchers with different regional and disciplinary perspectives and appoints researchers from all over the world as Fellows. More...

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