Volkan Konak

Volkan Konak
Konak in 2009
Konak in 2009
Background information
Born(1967-02-27)27 February 1967
Maçka, Trabzon, Turkey
Died31 March 2025(2025-03-31) (aged 58)
Famagusta, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
GenresFolk
OccupationSinger
Years active1989–2025
Spouse
Selma Konak
​
(m. 1992)​
Websitehttp://www.volkankonak.com

Volkan Konak (27 February 1967 – 31 March 2025) was a Turkish folk singer from the eastern Black Sea region. He was known for blending traditional Black Sea folk music with contemporary musical forms. His song "Cerrahpaşa" achieved widespread popularity, and his 2006 album, Mora, was awarded a gold plaque by the Turkish recording producers association, MÜ-YAP.[1][2]

Early life and education

Volkan Konak was born in Yeşilyurt village, Maçka, Trabzon. He attended local schools before enrolling in Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory in 1983, where he graduated in 1988. He later pursued a master's degree in Social Sciences, specializing in folk music, completing it in 1991.[3]

Musical career

Konak began his professional music career with the 1989 album Suların Horon Yeri, which included compilations of folk songs from the Maçka region. Over his career, he released numerous albums, including Efulim, Gelir misin Benimle?, Volkanik Parçalar, Pedaliza, Şimal Rüzgarı, Maranda, Mora, Mimoza, Lifor, Manolya, and Dalya.[4]

He often set poems by Turkish poets such as Nazım Hikmet, Yaşar Miraç, Ömer Kayaoğlu, and Sunay Akın to music. His style was known for blending regional Black Sea motifs with universal musical forms, appealing to audiences both in Turkey and abroad. He also composed tribute songs such as Gardaş for Kazım Koyuncu.[5]

Personal life

Konak was married to Selma Konak since 1992. The couple had three children: Şimal, Derin, and Volkan. He was known for his emotional and humble nature, often emphasizing generosity and support for education. During the 2012–2013 school year, he provided scholarships to 63 students, primarily from his hometown, Yeşilyurt.[6]

Social activism

Konak was involved in health and environmental awareness, focusing on the effects of cancer in the Black Sea region. He researched the impact of the Chernobyl disaster on the area and advocated for the establishment of a cancer research hospital in Trabzon.[7]

Death

On 31 March 2025, Konak collapsed during a concert in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus. Despite emergency medical intervention, he died of a heart attack at Famagusta State Hospital.[8]

Legacy

Konak is remembered as one of the most prominent modern representatives of Black Sea folk music. His work preserved regional traditions while bringing them to a wider audience, blending poetry and music, and raising awareness about social and environmental issues.

References

  1. ^ "Karadeniz'in entelektüel türkücüsü Volkan Konak". Hürriyet. 18 June 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  2. ^ "MÜ-YAP 2007 Müzik Ödülleri Dağıtıldı". Mü-Yap. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  3. ^ "Volkan Konak Biography". Biyografya.com. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Volkan Konak Discography". Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Karadeniz'in entelektüel türkücüsü Volkan Konak". Hürriyet. 18 June 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Volkan Konak Burs Activities". Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Volkan Konak Activism". Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Folk singer Volkan Konak dies on stage during Cyprus concert". Bianet. 31 March 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.

Early life

Konak was born in 1967 in the village of Yeşilyurt in the Maçka district of Trabzon. After completing his primary, secondary and high school education in Maçka, he entered the Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory in 1983 with the encouragement of his teacher. He graduated from the conservatory in 1988 and started his master's degree in Social Sciences on folk music at Istanbul Technical University in the same year. He completed his master's degree in 1991.

Career

Konak started his musical life in 1989 with an album named Suların Horon Yeri, based on a compilation of works from the Maçka region. Later, he started to compose his own music, often inspired by the works of poets such as Nâzım Hikmet, Yaşar Miraç, Ömer Kayaoğlu, Sunay Akın and Sabahattin Ali. By incorporating ethnic motifs into his compositions, he created hiw own unique style.

Reshaping Black Sea music by combining it with universal music forms, Konak composed Efulim in 1993. Then in October 1994, he released the album Gel Misiniz Benimle (Will you come with me?). After completing his military service, he immediately started work on his third album Volkanik Parçalar which was completed after three months. In April 1998, Konak completed his album Pedaliza with Kuzey Müzik Production, a company he founded himself.

From 1993, he performed about fifty of his compositions in his albums and, as a result, was selected as artist of the year by the Association of Journalists and other foundations and associations. In 1997, he was named "The Best Music Artist of the Year" by Politika magazine. In 1993 the world rights to one of Konak's compositions were purchased by the French producer Alain Finet. From 1998, he also started to sing folk songs from Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, the Aegean and Cyprus alongside his more familiar Black Sea songs.

In 2000, he released his album Şimal Rüzgarı on DMC, following it up after a 3.5-year hiatus, with Maranda, also on the DMC label. In 2006, he released Mora which included the song "Gardaş", in memory of Kazım Koyuncu. with lyrics written by his sister Nuran Bahçekapılı. Konak also wrote many poems and at his concerts used to recite from other poets as well as entertaining his audience with his humorous stories.

Having carried out two years of research into the Chernobyl disaster, he compiled and documented the effects of this disaster on Turkey and especially on the Black Sea Region. Konak, who lost many of his relatives, including his father, to cancer, and always felt the pain of this, composed "Cerrahpaşa", with lyrics again written by his sister, for his father. For years, Konak sought to draw attention to the increase in cancer cases in the Black Sea Region and fought for the establishment of a Cancer Research Hospital in the region.

Konak in 2011

In 2009, Konak released a new album entitled Mimoza and shot several videos for it. In the same year, he revealed that he was neither Greek nor Laz in an interview.

In 2012, he released his album Lifor and shot several videos for it

Death

In the late evening of 30 March 2025, Konak suffered a medical emergency and collapsed while on stage; he died early the next day, at the age of 58.[1] Large crowds attended his funeral in Maçka.[2]

Albums

References

  1. ^ "Singer Volkan Konak dies on stage during concert in Turkish Cyprus". Türkiye. 31 March 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  2. ^ "SON DAKİKA VOLKAN KONAK CENAZE HABERLERİ: Volkan Konak son yolculuğuna uğurlandı". Milliyet (in Turkish). 2 April 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkan_Konak