REFLECTION JOURNAL 1: YASMIN LEVY

I would like to introduce you one of my favorite singers, Yasmin Levy. In 2011 summer, I went to Spain and before going there I searched and listened to many Spanish singers and bands so that I could know their language and culture better. Yasmin was the one that I liked most among them.

Yasmin Levy is a Spanish-Jewish singer. Her Jew ancestors were made to migrate from Spain and they came to Turkey. Yasmin’s father was born in Manisa, and Yasmin was born in İzmir. She is the singer of these lands.

In her songs, main themes are love, melancholy and sadness. She said in Bursa concert, in which I also went, that “I am a person of melancholy because it is the life itself. It makes me feel alive. Joyful songs are not for me.”

She loves Turkey very much. She comes to Turkey every year give concerts, to two of which I went. Her songs and music are made up of Flamenco and Arabic features. They also carry many features of Turkish music. If one listens to her songs, he can easily understand that her music has been inspired by Turkish music very much. In her band, there is an Armenian musician who plays clarinet. For example, one of her songs, Una Ora, which means ‘One Hour’, is the cover version of a Turkish song, Kadifeden Kesesi, sang by Candan Erçetin. I should also mention that the slower version of this song, Una Ora En La Ventana, meaning ‘One Hour at the Window’ should absolutely be listened.

Another example for her being fond of Turkish music is her last album. In her last album, she covered one of Sezen Aksu’s best known works, ‘Firuze’ in her own language. She covered another Turkish song ‘Aman Doktor’ in the album.

If I am to cut it short, I should say that she is a beautiful woman and a great singer who deeply impresses my soul. One who does not know her lacks a great taste in his life.

I love every one of her songs equally. However, below is the one that I frequently listen to nowadays, Naci En Alamo, which means ‘I was born In Alamo.’ You can also understand how talented the Armenian clarinetist is upon listening to his clarinet solos.