Education - beginning

My musical life started at age five. After a brief stop at the drums, I followed classical piano lessons from age six till thirteen. During that time I wrote my first short compositions. I enjoyed the piano a lot, but after holding a bass once during a school class, I decided to switch instruments. I formed my first bands in high school, and discovered that one of my favorite things to do is to improvise. This led me to the conclusion that I should study jazz music.

Education - higher

At the age of eighteen, I got admitted at the prestigious Prins Claus Conservatorium's ´New York comes to Groningen´ jazz program, from which I graduated in 2015. In this program I had the opportunity to get taught by and play with a great variety of top musicians from the New York jazz scene. As part of the European Erasmus program, I followed one year of my studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig Germany. Here I received extracurricular private composition lessons by jazz pianist Richie Beirach, which have influenced my approach to writing music and use of harmony a lot.

What I do now

After finishing my bachelor in music, I moved to Berlin where I became an active session musician on the scene. I'm primarily active in Pop, Neo-Soul, Rock, Electronic, Jazz and their related genres and regularly tour throughout Europe, West-Asia and North-Africa. Besides playing gigs and recording sessions for other artists, I teach private lessons, give workshops, coach bands and make my own music as 'Yelmur'. I am also running a recording and production studio in Berlin Kreuzberg, where I produce music for myself and other artists.

My Vision

To me, music really is a language. Musicians who have never met, can improvise together, create music and portray a feeling. A carefully crafted story can be retold night after night, with the same intensity. This is why I am interested in creating as many sound varieties as possible, to be able to communicate in all situations.

This has led me to learn all the common roles of the bass, but also to bend the use of the instrument. I do this by using less common techniques and different effects: analog, digital and physical as well as by playing analog synthesizers.