Jehan Barbur

Jehan Barbur — Biography

Jehan Barbur is a singer-songwriter who mostly performs her own words and compositions and has produced all of her albums herself. Alongside music she has worked in theatre scoring and writing; in 2026 her life story, Öncesi, was published as a book, and she kept performing in concerts the same year.

Raised in İskenderun, Barbur studied American Culture and Literature at Bilkent University and moved to Istanbul after graduating in 2002. She knew nobody there, went to live-music venues to meet musicians, and after two years of searching began performing with a band. She sang at the same venue for four years, built a following of her own and wrote songs in an amateur studio at home. Bülent Ortaçgil, who heard her demos, urged her to make an album and pointed her to Ada Müzik. Uyan came out in 2009, and "Gidersen", "Leyla" and "Neden" topped some music channels' top-ten charts. Hayat, Sarı, Sizler Hiç Yokken, Evim Neresi, Ürkerek Söylerim and, in 2024, Şehirlerden Uzak followed.

She also contributed to television and film music and wrote the lyrics of "Şermin" on Zuhal Olcay's album Aşk'ın Halleri. Her score for the play Şems! Unutma! won best original music at the Direklerarası Audience Awards, and she shared the 2011 YEFA award for best film song for the song in the film Nar. Her first book, Çatıdaki Çimenler, appeared in 2013.