Kalem Çektim

Karadeniz pop is a contemporary Turkish pop style rooted in the folk music of Turkey’s Black Sea (Karadeniz) region. It fuses regional instruments—especially the Black Sea kemençe (pear‑shaped bowed lyra) and tulum (Black Sea bagpipe)—with modern pop/rock rhythm sections, synthesizers, and studio production. Typical grooves borrow from horon and kolbastı dances, yielding brisk, driving rhythms in asymmetrical meters (often 7/8 split 2+2+3, or 5/8 split 2+3) alongside straight 2/4 party feels. Melodies are ornamented, modal (makam‑inflected), and often sung with a bright, forward tone that reflects local vocal aesthetics. Lyrics celebrate sea life, mountains, migration, romance, teasing banter, and the Black Sea sense of humor and pride, sometimes using regional dialects and Laz/Hemşin influences.

Karadeniz folk is the regional folk music of Turkey’s eastern Black Sea (Karadeniz) coast, associated with Laz, Hemshin, Pontic Greek (Romeika-speaking), and Turkish communities. It is typified by the piercing, agile sound of the kemençe (Pontic lyra) and the droning tulum (Black Sea bagpipe), propulsive asymmetric dance meters (especially the horon in 7/16), and call-and-response vocals. Melodies often draw on Anatolian/Turkic and wider maqam-based modal practices, while lyrics evoke seafaring, mountain life, migration, tea and hazelnut harvests, and fervent love. In modern practice, traditional ensembles are frequently joined by guitar, bass, and drum set, producing a lively folk-rock crossover that retains the region’s characteristic rhythmic lift and ornamented melodic style.

Oyun havası (literally “dance tune”) is a broad Turkish term for lively, groove‑driven pieces played for social dancing at weddings and festive gatherings. It is most closely associated with clarinet‑led urban/Thracian (Rumeli) and Turkish Roma (Roman) ensembles, as well as rural zurna–davul bands. Typical meters include the asymmetrical 9/8 “aksak” (especially the karşılama groupings 2+2+2+3), alongside 2/4 or 4/4 çiftetelli and occasional 6/8. Melodies often follow the makam (modal) system, with ornamented, vocal‑like phrasing and exuberant percussion patterns that keep dancers moving. Instrumentation commonly features clarinet, davul (bass drum), darbuka/tef (frame drum/riq), zurna, violin, kanun, ud, cümbüş, and bağlama. In urban settings, taksim (improvised preludes) may introduce the tune before the main dance sections. The overall feel is festive, flirtatious, and highly rhythmic, encouraging call‑and‑response energy between musicians and dancers.