Tuncay Akdoğan

Tuncay Akdoğan — Biography

Grup Yorum and Grup Kızılırmak both count Tuncay Akdoğan among their founding members, and as a composer, lyricist, singer and producer he left a mark on Turkey's political and Alevi-rooted music. His only solo album, which he had long worked on in his own studio, was completed by his friends after his death and released.

He began making music while studying at the Press and Broadcasting School of Marmara University. In 1985 he founded Grup Yorum with Kemal Sahir Gürel, Metin Kahraman and Ayşegül Yordam, writing music and lyrics and playing the cura and drums on the group's first three albums, Sıyrılıp Gelen, Haziranda Ölmek Zor and Türkülerle. In 1989 he left the group together with İlkay Akkaya, and the following year founded Grup Kızılırmak with Akkaya and İsmail İlknur. That same year he served as narrator in the Ankara Birlik Theatre's Pir Sultan Abdal. Between 1990 and 1997 he contributed compositions, lyrics and vocals to Kızılırmak's nine albums, from Ölüme de Tilli to Günde Dün.

He left Kızılırmak in 1998 and in 2000 formed Grup Serüvenciler, which dissolved after its single album, Veda. Many artists performed his songs and he arranged numerous albums; he also contributed three songs and a poem in his own voice to Kızılırmak's Yılkı. İlkay Akkaya has said that she became a singer thanks to Akdoğan while she had been planning to become a journalist. Akdoğan died on 21 November 2004, aged 45, in a fire at the Istanbul home where he lived alone, and was buried at Kilyos Cemetery after a ceremony at Okmeydanı Cemevi. His solo album Bir Nehir ki Ömrüm appeared on Seyhan Müzik.