Servet Kocakaya

Servet Kocakaya — Biography

Singing in Turkish, Zazaki and Kurmanji, Servet Kocakaya has become known as a Kurdish singer-songwriter from Turkey. He built his own style by combining an interest in Western music with the Turkish bard tradition, and over the years assembled a three-language repertoire of songs and folk tunes. His albums and concerts have found an audience across Turkey.

His recording career began in 1999 with the album Keke, and the same year he made videos for Zor İş and Keke. Ki Zava (2001), Duvar Şarkıları (2002) and Pencere (2005) followed on the Prestij Müzik, Popüler Müzik and Seyhan Müzik labels respectively. The videos include Piro (2002) and, in 2005, Doğum Günümde, Zindan and the Kurdish-language Şilele. In 2011 he released İki Dil Bir Heves on Gam Müzik, and in 2021 the singles Bonjour Gözüm and Hayat Dediğin. He performed at the closing concert of the Siirt International Short Film Festival and has taken part in solidarity concerts.

Born in the Solhan district of Bingöl, Kocakaya was five when his family moved to Çukurova, then to Dörtyol in Hatay and on to Mersin. He went to school in Mersin and studied computer engineering at Hacettepe University. He turned to music in Ankara and settled in Istanbul in 1999.