BIO

Djanan Turan is a London-based Turkish singer, songwriter and producer. As one of the main proponents of North London underground music, she performs with her band her songs with various kind of musical influences from disco to reggae, and psychedelic Anatolian folk.

To date, she has released a Turkish album (Düğüm), 2 EPs in English (Artigo and Maze) and 4 singles, as well as collaborating in writing and performing with The Egg, Voices of Nature, Stevie R.

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Djanan who started singing at the age of 14 with a rock band in her home town Adana, further on moved to Istanbul and studied singing, harmony and composition with Timur Selcuk who is an acclaimed Turkish composer/conductor/singer. Arriving in the UK in 2001, she quickly got involved with the global club music scene and began performing and collaborating with various UK based bands such as Oojami, Awale, Sam and The Womp and The Oddbeats.

Djanan has released her first solo album Dugum, in Turkish, in 2009 and her English E.P, Artigo in 2012. Both albums, produced by herself and Tansay Omar, received great reviews. In 2011 she released a swing single What She Wants which was featured in Global Hits 1 compilation in Germany.

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In 2015 she came out with a 4 track EP, Maze (financed by her loyal fans

on crowd-funding platform “kickstarter”)  which is another colourful journey within itself, consisting of 3 of her own songs, ‘Maze’, ‘Drive’ and ‘Brother’, as well as, a bonus collaboration; ‘Feels Right’ co-written with the highly acclaimed underground electronic music band, The Egg. She produced the EP with producer Raz Olsher (Sam and The Womp, ‘BOM BOM’) at Fossil Studios, London.

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She released her infectious disco tune, Dancing Feet that she produced with George Botis , Tansay Omar,and Raz Olsher in 2017. Followed by another single, Dunya, in 2018 which is a plea for a peaceful world, which she produced a video for, with local children in Adana.  The song, featuring Olcay Bayir was  a fundraiser where all proceeds was donated to Small Projects Istanbul, a small independent charity in Turkey, which supports Middle Eastern refugee families.

Djanan’s live CV is equally impressive with appearances already chalked up at Glastonbury Festival, Secret Garden Party, World London Festival in Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Rollright Fayre, Carling Academy, as well as numerous live appearances around Europe. She also toured in Turkey regularly.

She has been performing with seasoned accomplished musicians, such as Tansay Omar (Bjork,Boy George) on drums, Fati Ebrem (Funkshy, Oddbeats) on guitar, Alice Mary Williamson on clarinet , Al Maranca and Taha Turan on bass. Through an unexpected fusion of musical expressions, weaves intriguing stories into her quirky style. Waltz, Turkish wailings, 70’s synth psychedelia, hypnotizing clarinet, romantic piano sounds all accompany her unique seductive vocals with harmonious perfection.

Djanan also featured in Mike Figgis’s London Documentary which was shown in Trafalgar Square for the closing of the London Film Festival and as also appeared as a special guest on DJ Ritu’s BBC Radio ‘World in London’ music show and BBC Radio Cambridge. She has also composed and recorded music for various projects with the cutting edge London producers such as Robin Twelvetree, Stevie R.

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"Djanan Turan proves there is plenty of musical talent out there beyond the blandness that dominates the charts" What's Good

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"She has an amazing song writing ability that is instantly infectious and only grows ever more intriguing over time." DJ CousCous (Lizard Stage)

"...a haunting sound" Music News

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“Dazzling & delightful Turkish singer/composer”.  DJ Ritu

“It’s a bit rare these days to find singer-songwriters who are as exuberantly innocent in their love of performance as Turkish-born London-scene dress-up-and-dance Djanan. " Sebastian Merrick, Kazum

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