Untitled

Sam Karpienia Ulaş Özdemir Bijan Chemirani
A fertile dialogue between the Occitan Troubadour and the
Anatolian Aşik
Forabandit is the musical creation celebrating libertarian poetry from Occitania and Anatolia. Sam
Karpienia, singer and mandolin player, uses a contemporary approach to perpetuate the lyric
tradition of courtly poetry employed by the Occitan troubadours. His profound and hoarse voice
find a powerful echo in the intimate song of Ulaş Özdemir, who carries on the tradition of
Anatolian aşık, a figure of the itinerant troubadour. The Persian rhythms of Bijan Chemirani’s
percussion mingle subtlety with the songs of these new poets, who reveal all the vibrant poetry of
Occitania and Anatolia in a resolutely Mediterranean setting.
Sam Karpienia mandocello, vocal
Ulaş Özdemir bağlama, vocal
Bijan Chemirani zarb, percussion
www.forabandit.com
www.facebook.com/forabandit
Album Forabandit
Release on June 8th, 2012
Full Rhizome / Buda Musique
Distribution France Socadisc
Production
Full
Rhizome
/
licence
Buda
Musique
/
distribution Socadisc. Project created within the framework
of a residence in Le Chantier, a creative center for new
traditional music and world music, with the support of CNV.
Project initiated by Quai 21 as part of the “Sublimes Portes”
initiative. Photos © Augustin Le Gall / cover: painting ©
Kağan Güner, design Burcu Kayalar.
The FORABANDIT Project was born in Marseille in 2009 with the goal of celebrating libertarian poetry from
Occitania and Anatolia. The group resulted from the fortuitous encounter between three musicians who
manifest this libertarian force daily.
Sam Karpienia, singer and mandolin player, uses a contemporary approach to perpetuate the lyric tradition of
courtly poetry employed by the troubadours of Occitania in the South of France. Ula Özdemir, on the other
hand, carries on the tradition of a ık songs from Anatolia, a figure of the itinerant troubadour. Both take their
inspiration from traditional songs only to reinvent them in their own fashion. The Persian rhythms of Bijan
Chemirani’s percussion mingle subtlety with the songs of these new poets.
The troubadour and the A ık share a common itinerant lifestyle that leads them to travel incessantly
throughout their countries. Their poetry gradually loses its religious content to become a descriptive, critical
and engaged chronicle on the daily life of their peoples.
With the Forabandit project, the three musicians explore the relationship between music from different
backgrounds and from foreign cultures to see how they can nourish each other in order to create something
new, an innovation, an original creation, the fusion of the past and present. The value of this approach lies
precisely in the apprehension of culture and tradition considered not as a foundation but as a vanishing
point in perpetual motion.
The term «forabandi», which in the Occitan language means “be put aside”, incorporates all manner of
deviant or heretical thoughts, be they religious or secular. The word “bandit,” included therein, also reveals
the group’s musical direction: Forabandit seeks to express its viewpoint on both poetry and music with a
brigand’s attitude. The group employs in an unprecedented way melodies and traditional poems about love,
commitment, struggle or confinement, but also composes works based on contemporary poets.
The subtle songs of these new, modern day troubadours are revived by the soft and intimate voice of Ula
Özdemir and find a powerful echo in the hoarse, expressive and profound voice of Sam Karpienia. To the
rhythmic pulsations of Bijan Chemirani’s zarb, they reveal all the vibrant poetry of Occitania and Anatolia in a
resolutely Mediterranean setting.
“Forabandit,” the group’s eponymous debut album, was recorded using analog technology. It features the
ba lama, the sacred instrument of the a ıks of Anatolia; the mandocello of the mandolin family; the zarb
(tonbak), the principal percussion instrument of traditional Persian music, and two vocals.
With the desire of expressing moments of love, refusing moments of resignation, FORABANDIT grooves in
order to find age-old moments of freedom, works of what could have been and may still be…
Musicians
Sam Karpienia
From his time spent with Dupain and Gacha
Empega, Sam Karpienia transformed music in Marseille with his unique voice
and his poetic intensity. Singer, songwriter and mandolin player, his singing
style finds its echo in intoxicating rebetiko, in fiery flamenco, and of course in
the joyous insolence of this new Provencal song, which he is a pillar. But the
established Occitan hasn’t forgotten the Occident, as the energy of his music is
similar to that of rock. Consequently, the music of Sam Karpienia is traditionally
inspired but firmly focused on contemporary creation. Over the last ten years,
Sam Karpienia has taken his inspiration from traditional Occitan songs only to
reinvent them in various musical projects and albums... Productions : >Extatic
Malancòni (Full Rhizome – L’Autre Distribution / 2009) >Les Vivants (Label Bleu
– Harmonia Mundi / 2005) >Camina (Virgin France – EMI / 2002)…
Ulaş Özdemir
Turkisk musician and ethnomusicologist, he has
participated in a variety of concerts and lectures in Turkey and abroad,
performing on the traditional instruments of Alevi-Bektashi music, dede sazı,
ba lama and vocal. He has performed and recorded albums with Ali Akbar
Moradi, Kayhan Kalhor, Azam Ali, Niyaz. Between 1997-2010, he has worked for
Kalan Müzik as producer and production director. He recorded several solo
albums, compilations and soundtracks. He has composed film scores and
written arrangements that employ a broad array of instruments, with references
to various music cultures from his country. He is still working on his phd thesis
on Alevi-Bektashi music, giving music classes in universities and performing
with his projects. Productions : >Benim ve Rozun Sonbaharı (bande originale)
(Kalan Müzik / 2009) >Kizibas (Compilation) (Kalan Müzik / 2009) >The Breath
(Kalan Müzik / 2008)…
Bijan Chemirani
Percussionist hardened to the Persian
rhythms, the third of the Trio Chemirani, Bijan Chemirani also penetrate the
mysteries of the Iranian saz and assimilate the subtleties of the Cretan music as
those of the jazz or the slam. Over the years, he assembled a set of
percussions (zarb, daf, udu, cajon) of which he displays the infinite capacities.
Between multiple collaborations - Patrick Vaillant, Sting, Serge Teyssot-Gay,
Juan Carmona, Ross Daly, Amina Alaoui, Parissa, Annie Ebrel, Houria Aichi,
Nguyen Le, Jean-Marc Padovani, or Renaud Garcia-Fons…, he initiates Oneira,
project bringing together six musicians with the ambition to explore the
common features of the Mediterranean music. Productions : >Oneira «Tâle
Yâd» (Hélico - L’Autre Distribution / 2012) >Trio Chemirani invite… (Accords
Croisés – Harmonia Mundi / 2011) >Oneira «Si la mar » (Hélico – L’Autre
Distribution / 2010)…
Videos
Forabandit @ Cité de la Musique de Marseille / February 2013
Forabandit @ Studio de l’Ermitage / September 2012
Forabandit on tour
2014
February 28th • Centre culturel • Terrasson (24)
March 1st • Salle des fêtes • Bourdeilles (24)
March 19th • L’Arc • Rezé (44)
March 20th• Salle du Cercle • Bischeim (67)
2013
March 23th • Festival La Voix est libre • Institut Français – Beyrouth Liban
May 28th • Festival La Voix est libre • les Bouffes du Nord • Paris 10e
July 20th • Festival Détours du Monde • Chanac (48)
July 24th • Nuits Musicales du Suquet • Cannes (06)
August 2nd • Festival Voix d’été en Creuse • Eglise • Bourganeuf (23)
August 3rd • Festival Voix d’été en Creuse • Eglise • Soumans (23)
August 5th • Domaine du Rayol • Jardin Des Méditerranées • Rayol-Canadel-Sur-Mer (83)
September 12th • Studio de l’Ermitage • Paris 20e
September 13th • Kulturzentrum Bezalel-Synagoge • Lich Allemagne
2012
March 24th • Nouruz Printemps des cultures • Köln Allemagne
March 30th • Babel Med Music • Marseille (13)
June 13th • World Music Festival • Thessalonique Grèce
June 24th • Festival Rhizomes • Institut Des Cultures d'Islam • Paris (18e)
July 25th • La Gare Coustellet • Maubec (84)
July 26th • Festival Estivada • Rodez (12)
August 2nd • Festival Aux heures d’été • Nantes (44)
September 11th • Studio de l’Ermitage • Paris (20e)
October 17th • Festival Chants Sacrés en Méditerranée • Espace Julien • Marseille (13)
November 29th • Institut français • Istanbul Turquie
December 13th • Festival NoBorder • Brest (29)
Contacts
www.forabandit.com
www.facebook.com/forabandit
BOOKING
Amélie Salembier / Molpé Music
+33 1 42 23 02 06 / +33 6 30 35 36 80 / [email protected]
PROMOTION
Marine Le Roux / Full Rhizome
+33 6 61 10 79 25 / [email protected]
LABELS
Full Rhizome
[email protected] / www.fullrhizome.coop
Buda Musique
[email protected] / www.budamusique.com
Photos © Augustin Le Gall et © Guillaume Ducarme