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NEW YORK – PAINTED ON WATER, the duo of star Turkish performers, whose current self-titled album project by the vocalist Sertab Erener and composer/guitarist Demir Demirkan, has been cited by New York Daily News music critic as an “inventive debut” returns to the US this month.
As Painted On Water’s North American fan and media base continue to solidify and broaden, the duo has responded with another series of tour dates in conjunction with the single release of “Love,” a newly-recorded version of a song the pair performs live on tour. A highlight of their show, “Love” features a powerfully haunting and mesmerizing vocal by Erener with a rare background vocal by Demirkan. Initial reaction to the recording is so strong; nearly a dozen local TV appearances have been confirmed for the promotional tour which is currently underway.
Recorded in Istanbul, “Love” was produced by Demirkan. The track has been released to radio and is currently available for digital downloads and online purchase. “Love” is the English translation for the Turkish word “Ask” and the song was originally written in Turkish about the personification of love which is based on Sufi philosophy. The original Turkish lyrics were penned by Erener and Demirkin; the English lyrics were written by renowned lyricists Ken Williams and Kenny Seymour.
Sertab Erener and Demir Demirkan are among Turkey’s most celebrated musicians. Erener’s 12 albums have sold in the millions in Europe and Asia. Guitarist, composer and Painted On Water album co-producer Demirkan is one of Turkey’s true rock stars. Since the year 2000 he has released a dozen CDs including solo albums and film scores. He and Erener co-wrote the 2003 international hit, “Every Way That I Can,” Turkey’s first and only winner in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Painted On Water is a world music fusion concept with jazz, pop and Turkish influences. The material demonstrates the shifting, tangible and intangible qualities of music, emotion and art. Their live appearances are uniquely rich, involving multi-media events, accompanied by a live projected display of Ebru art, created onstage by the master paper-marbling artist Bingul Sevimli. Imbued with its many historic sources, the ethos of the album is at once Turkish, and universal: “You and me is a long story, painted on water,” and “life is like water, and you put the colors onto it.”
New York Daily News music critic Jim Farber said, “On the band’s inventive debut, singer Sertab Erener and guitarist Demir Demirkan rely heavily on traditional tunes from their birth country, but kick them up with rock guitars, jazz inflections, and a bit of pop polish.” Adding, “…Erener’s vocal timber has something in common with Gwen Stefani, but she colors it with the animated quavers of traditional Turkish folk.” And, “Demirkan’s classical inclinations, as well as his art-rock interest, arise in the mournful title track, which recalls early King Crimson ballads like Cadence and Cascade.”