Music for the masses
THE Covid-19 pandemic and the ways people “enslave” themselves are among the themes of a new album released by a Turkish Cypriot musician in the UK.
Berk Yağlı, 22, who studied music and sound technology at Portsmouth University, has released his first album, called Symphony of Humanity, which consists of seven songs that deal with “Covid-19, hysteria, freedom, manipulation of the masses, and plutocracy”.
Mr Yağlı said he composed and produced all the songs himself. “The general theme changes . . . but I worked on thought formations and perceptions that imprison people,” he told Cyprus Today.
“Under the name of comfort, people trade their freedoms for other benefits that end up enslaving them in the long-term.” These ideas come through in song titles such as Manufacturing Consent.
Other songs on the album are called Freedom of War, Obedient Workers, An Urge To Be Free, Plague, Covidiot, and What’s Next? Mr Yağlı’s degree from Portsmouth University – where he graduated first in his department – exposed him to a plethora of “compositional ideas” that were mixed and sculpted into a “unique compositional voice”. His artistic mission involves giving various “social, political, and philosophical messages . . . aimed to make the listener think about problems concerning society”.
Believing that sticking to “standard musical formats” is not enough to fully achieve his goals, Mr Yağlı has blended a diverse range of styles to create the album, such as classical music, electronic music and heavy metal.
The musician, who is currently studying for a master’s degree in composition at the University of Sheffield, released two solo singles in 2017 and 2019 having been involved with music since the age of eight. One was in Turkish and the other was an instrumental named Dancing with Anubis.
His new album, which is in English, is available on all digital platforms. Physical copies are not currently available due to the pandemic.
“I would like to perform live one day but focusing on my own compositions rather than covers,” Mr Yağlı added.