Güler Duman

Güler Duman — Biography

Güler Duman (born 30 June 1967 in Istanbul) is a Turkish folk singer, songwriter and composer whose family roots trace back to the Aşkale district of Erzurum. Her voice was first noticed as a child in the Ruhi Su Friends' Choir, and she gained public recognition for the long-form vocal (uzun hava) she performed in the film A Season in Hakkari, directed by Erden Kıral and starring Genco Erkal. She released her debut album, Dost Garip, in 1980 at the age of thirteen, launching a recording career that would span more than four decades.

In 1987 she enrolled in the vocal training department of Istanbul Technical University's Turkish Music State Conservatory, graduating in 1992 with a thesis examining eight poets who wrote under the shared pseudonym Pir Sultan Abdal; the research was later published as a book. In 1995 she opened a music school in Hannover, Germany, training thousands of students, and in 2008 the German Ministry of Culture named her a cultural ambassador.

Across albums such as O Leyli Leyli, Bu Devran and Türküler Dile Geldi, she has interpreted works by folk poets including Aşık Veysel, Mahzuni Şerif and Pir Sultan. With close to 10 million albums sold across Turkey and Europe, she remains one of the best-known names in Turkish folk music.