Kıvırcık Ali

Kıvırcık Ali — Biography

Born Ali Özütemiz on 11 October 1968 in the village of Erenli in Turhal, Tokat, Kıvırcık Ali was the youngest of nine children in a Turkmen Alevi family. As a boy he worked in farming and shepherding while learning to play the bağlama from local villagers, performing at weddings and Alevi cemevi gatherings, and it was his curly hair that earned him the nickname "Kıvırcık" (Curly). Having gone no further than primary school, he moved to Istanbul in 1983 with his brother's help, played the bağlama in wedding venues, and recorded three albums there, some of which would only surface after his death.

In 1995 he co-founded Grup Turnalar with two friends, and in 1998 he released his debut solo album, Gül Tükendi, Ben Tükendim. He achieved real commercial success with Isırgan Otu (2000) and Üçüncü Gurbet (2004), followed by a 2003 duet album with Arzu Şahin titled Düet, then Geriye Dönün Seneler (2006) and Hepimize Yeter Dünya (2008).

Kıvırcık Ali died at 42 in a car accident in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, on 11 January 2011. His studio album Onbir Bir İkibinonbir / Veda was released posthumously that year and proved a commercial hit, and compilations Hasret (2014) and Sevdiklerim (2017) followed. He continues to be fondly remembered through memorial concerts and tributes, particularly in his native Tokat.