Karagüneş in Concert: The Night Tapadum Opened Its Doors
Some evenings stay with you. October 16, 2019 was one of them — the night we opened Tapadum’s doors for the first time, and filled our home concert space in Faenza with music that traveled from Anatolia to Europe and back again.
We celebrated with the people who matter most: friends, neighbours, and anyone curious enough to walk through the door. No tickets, no entrance fee — just a free offer box, a table of Turkish and Greek food, cold beer, wine, and music that started at 20:45 and didn’t want to stop.
Karagüneş: Sound Explorations Between East and West
The evening’s concert was performed by Karagüneş, the group I founded in Ankara in 1997. The name literally means “black sun” — and the music carries that same paradox, rooted in ancient Anatolian tradition yet constantly moving toward something new.
That night in Faenza, the lineup was:
- Özgür Yalçın — guitar, santur, percussion, vocals
- Claudio Cadei — violin, lavta
- Pippi Dimonte — double bass
- Alberto Mammolini — percussion
- Valentina Bitti — dance
What Karagüneş brings to the stage is not a fixed repertoire but a living dialogue. Black Sea styles, Alevi deyişleri, Turkish folk, Kurdish melodies, and Romani rhythms share the same breath. Ancient instruments — the Iranian santur, ney, kemençe, darbuka, bendir — weave together with violin, bass, and guitar. The songs, many collected over years of ethnomusicological fieldwork in the remote rural regions of Anatolia and Kurdistan, are sung in four languages: Zazaki, Kurdish, Turkish, and Laz.
Since 1997, Karagüneş has performed across Turkey and Europe, released six albums between 2000 and 2013, and composed film soundtracks — most notably for İncir Çekirdeği, directed by Selda Çiçek. The most recent album, Mevsimler Geçti, was produced by Kalan Music.
An Opening, Not Just a Concert
For us, this evening was more than a concert. It was a statement about what Tapadum would be: a place where instruments are built and sold, yes — but also a place where music happens. Where people sit together, eat together, and play together.
After the concert, we opened the floor for a Jam Session — everyone who brought an instrument was welcome to join. That spirit of open improvisation, of suoniamo insieme, has become a constant at Tapadum events ever since.
Thirty-four people came that night. Seventy-seven more had marked they were thinking about it. For a first evening, in a store that had just opened its doors, it felt like the beginning of something real.
It was.
Tapadum hosts concerts, workshops, and jam sessions regularly at our store in Brisighella and at partner venues in Faenza. Browse our upcoming events or explore our handcrafted instrument collection.
Özgür Yalçın is the founder of Tapadum and the founding member of Karagüneş. He has performed ethnic and world music across Europe for over twenty-five years and builds custom instruments from Tapadum’s workshop in Brisighella, Italy.