Ozgur -

musical upbringing
When I was 10 years old I started playing an old saz, a traditional Turkish instrument, influenced by my brothers. In the following years I played some keyboards, mostly traditional tunes which my grandmother liked to dance with. When I turned 13 I started playing the guitar, mostly accompanying my brother who was also my first teacher. In those years I followed once a short guitar course and the rest was just self-study. 
My interest changed in the years in a wide variety of musical styles as well as my guitars. I played and sang in high school bands at school parties and street festivals. The music was simple but always a lot of fun. In the era between 2000 and 2003 I followed classic guitar classes at the faculty of the fine arts as well as private lessons beside my major study, engineering, at the same university. In those years I also played regularly on the stage and sang the popular Turkish songs.
In December 2005 I started playing flamenco guitar. I took some private lessons from Tino van der Sman and John Fillmore. In September 2006 I started studying flamenco guitar at the conservatorium of Rotterdam with Paco Pena. In the last years I specialised more in flamenco guitar which I love every day more and more. Along my study at the conservatorium with Paco Pena I also took lessons from well known masters such as: Manolo Sanlucar, Chiquelo, Manolo Franco, Paco Serrano, Jose Antonio Rodriguez in Spain and in the Netherlands. 

I, musician
For a musician the music is a very honest way of expressing some feelings. It is a beautiful language that you can not lie with it, it is what you play, what you hear, what you feel.. nothing less and nothing more. As a musician I try to talk through my music and when I find some others who talk the same language then great things happen. Making music gives me an energy which can never be replaced with something else. It is a big part of my life like a lifelong relation.. And sharing the same feeling with my musical mates is a great pleasure! 
I am simply looking for the moments where I find the piece, the chaos, the love, the pain, the anger, the happiness, the sadness the joy in the music as a musician as well as a listener and try to make my music that every single note means something.

musical influences
I listen to everything which grooves, which swings, which makes me cry or smile.. simply everything which takes me from that moment and brings me to somewhere else. It can be jazz, rock, latin, funk, pop or traditional music.. But flamenco is still the most inspiring because of the way of playing the guitar, singing and dancing.. and because it comes very close to my eastern roots.