Zelemele

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ZeleMele's real name is Mehmet Ali Güler (born April 1, 1975 in Tunceli ) is a Zaza singer and composer from Tunceli who lives in Germany .

origin of the name

ZeleMele is both the artist's name and the popular name for his musical style. Zelemele stands for music that interprets the authentic motifs of his homeland Tunceli with contemporary forms of music such as hip-hop , rap , rock and, to some extent, jazz .

He builds a musical bridge between Tunceli's traditional musical motifs, especially those from the times when the city was officially called Dersim, and contemporary western sounds and rhythms. The songs from this musical tradition, which are rooted in the Zazaic motivic, are rather melancholy and are made with a few traditional instruments such as B. the long-necked Tembur (Turkish: Baglama ) performed.

"Mem" is considered a pioneer of this style, which up to now was not only foreign to his homeland.

"When I sang my first rock songs, it was a little too loud for our older generation and more like noise, so according to them" Zelemele ". And they were right, because instruments like the electric guitar or the drums sounded like noise and noise in their ears. That's why I called my direction and style Zelemele . "

The language

Mem makes music in the Zaza language . He is convinced that he owes this to his ancestors and history.

“In the oppressive system of Turkey that excludes other peoples - especially as a student during the military coup in 1980 - I, like millions of others, grew up without a mother tongue and have been thinking this language since I was 16, we owe it to our ancestors to keep alive. Because this language is threatened with extinction and I didn't just want to watch our culture decline. I knew I had the gift of composing songs and using my voice well. So I was able to use these skills to further cultivate my mother tongue. Therefore I made the decision to make zaza music in principle. I see that as my vision. "

His successes

After its success in Turkey, Mem has also concentrated on Europe, where it has increasingly given concerts and participated in festivals. He still performs all over Europe and also focuses on promoting musical and cultural education for children and young people. He has carried out various projects. One of them was a children's theater in Zazaisch. The artist, who writes and composes almost all of his songs himself, has released three albums to date;

• Şêle ( The Şêle Girl ) (1999), Etno Music
• Ameyme ( We're Here! ) (2002), Etno Music
• Munzur o ( The River Munzur ) (2006), Z-Music Production & Organization
• Desu ra doy'm - Duvarlarin arkasinda (Behind the Walls) (2010), KALAN Music
• Şeribana ( Şeribana ) (2010) - Evrensel Müzik

Many of his compositions are also interpreted by other artists.

swell

• Barlas Beyaztaş - Zel u Mar
• Mehmet Ali Guler