Ruya - Dream for Anatolia

Olcay Bayır's music is a natural marriage of her time-honoured Anatolian heritage and the vibrant, eclectic sounds of London, which she now calls home.

Classically trained as a soprano, collaborations with musicians from all around the world have informed Olcay's music as much as the rich tradition of Kurdish and Turkish folk songs of her youth. This album, arranged and produced by Al MacSween and Giuliano Modarelli, exemplifies this and bears the musical stamp of their world-jazz collective Kefaya - a lilting west African feel somehow sits comfortably with Kurdish song Ferzê, and the traditional Cypriot dance song Dolama is restructured with a catchy melodic hook and a groove that builds to an ecstatic climax. Olcay (pronounced 'OL-djai') prefers to think of herself as a citizen of the world, an identity carved moving from place to place, absorbing cultural influences along the way.