Led by Abdallah Kaymak, the ten-piece band gathers weekly in the Üsküdar district, and proposes to its public musical arrangements mixing Sufi and meshk music, always with traditional instruments such as the ney, the rebab or the oud. Meshk denotes a form of continuous music that is in praise to the divine through both lyric and melody. Usually, songs in meshk are well known and can therefore be sung by both the performers and audience, unfolding into a layered group unity.
The songs sung in this circle are well known in the Arab world, hailing from the Gulf States; Damascus region: Syria Libya, Egypt, Iraq, and generally Northwest Africa, especially Mauritania, known colloquially as Maghreb. For a Turkish crowd, these songs are somewhat unfamiliar, but the young musicians are a mix of Turkish and Arab musicians who similarly draw friends from a variety of backgrounds, including tourists from the West who are enamored by this high energy and participatory style of devotional music.
At the invitation of the Chishtiya Ribbat Centre for Sufi Studies, the group will perform in Pakistan at the end of January and will host several interactive meshk sessions.
"Turkish and Arabic music have been interacting for centuries. The instruments are similar, but so are the subjects, the mores and the musical traditions" - Abdallah Kaymak, for online media Arab News.
The concerts are organised in a participatory atmosphere where the audience also gets involved and sings along with the musicians, who are always happy to welcome new talents. The music band also promotes a better integration of refugee communities in Istanbul.
Photo: copyright Abdullah Kaymak's Instagram account.