Loading details…
Artist
Volkan Öktem
6+ albums
Fusionjazzjazz fusion
about
Volkan Öktem was born on June 25, 1970 in Izmir. He became interested in music around the age of 7. When he was 11, he started playing the drums with military musicians at the local Officers’ Club. In 1985, he relocated to Ankara, where he got a chance to play with many different rock and pop bands, including Alpay for 3 years, who was one of most famous singers of the time. He also peformed at various night clubs, playing a diverse repertoire, including traditional Turkish music. This gave him a chance to develop his understanding of rhythm furthermore and laid the foundations of his personal and unique style. Because of his interest in jazz music, he gravitated towards performing at various jazz gigs, where he played with some of the best musicians, such as pianist Tuna Otenel and Janusz Szprot. During this time, he made quite a following for himself and his name began circulating in the music industry. He considered some offers and decided to move to Istanbul in 1994. This was the beginning of a new era in his life… He performed on more than 100 albums in Istanbul with many different artists, such as Sezen Aksu, Fahir Atakoglu and Nilufer. He also played with international musicians and groups at different clubs and concerts around the globe. In 1996, he collaberated with 6 other musicians and formed the group “Habbecik” and performed on his first ethnic jazz project. Habbecik released an album named “An meselesi” and continued playing at music festivals and concerts fo