Seden Gürel

Seden Gürel — Biography

Singer, composer and songwriter Seden Gürel, born Nadire Seden Kutlubay, was an influential name in Turkish pop in the 1990s. She is best known for the song Çalkala, and for having been part of the group that won the 1986 Turkish Eurovision final. She released seven albums, the last in 2008.

She met music in her school years, had her first studio experience at 14 and represented her school in an inter-school music contest. At university, while singing as vocalist for İlhan İrem, she formed the group Onlar with Sevingül Bahadır. Merged with Klips, Onlar won the 1986 Turkish Eurovision final with Halley; because the contest fell in Gürel's exam period she could not go, Candan Erçetin took her place, and Klips and Onlar finished ninth with 53 points. Her solo career began in 1992 with Bir Yudum Sevgi, followed by Aklımı Çelme (1994), Muhtemelen (1996), Hesaplaşma (2002), Bir Kadın Şarkı Söylüyor (2004) and the mini album Maia with Keremcem (2005); Bir Nefes closed the discography. Neslihan Yargıcı gave her the nickname Beyaz Şapkalı Kız.

Born in Ankara to a military father, she grew up in Istanbul; after Kadıköy Anatolian High School she graduated in architecture from Istanbul Technical University. She married musician Aykut Gürel in 1989 and together they founded İrem Records in 2002. The couple divorced in 2012, and on 20 July 2014 she married lawyer Macit Koçer.