Sirma

Sırma almost walked away from music. Thirteen years old and already a budding classical pianist with her eye on attending conservatory, the Istanbul native was devastated by the news that her trusted and beloved piano instructor had been arrested trying to flee the country with millions of dollars in stolen cash. "He was sentenced to jail for life, and I never heard from him again," she remembers. "That ended my belief that everyone who is in love with music had to be good and innocent." Sırma passed on her conservatory dreams, instead attending one of Turkey's most rigorous and respected high schools to focus on her academics. But music wouldn't let her go. The school's orchestra conductor discovered her talents and encouraged her to devote herself to becoming a jazz vocalist. In 2007, she was awarded the prestigious Arif Mardin Fellowship to attend an intensive summer program at Berklee College of Music, and upon returning she placed third in one of Turkey's most respected jazz vocal competitions as the youngest entrant. The media recognition catapulted her into the national spotlight, and she was selected to represent Turkey on the official World Cup theme of 2010, "Oh Africa." "They flew me to LA for a week to record with Akon, Keri Hilson, The Soweto Gospel Choir and this world choir they'd formed," she remembers. "We recorded the song and we also shot a music video with our faces painted in our country flags. It was a crazy week. The song and the music video debuted at the Grammys that year." Smitten with Berklee during her summer program, Sırma returned to Boston to study at the school full-time and joined an experimental rock band called Helicopria. The group toured internationally, opening for Mando Diao at a 17,000 capacity venue in Turkey in addition to performing on CNN and Turkey's most popular late night talk show for an estimated audience of 25 million. "After that gig, I decided to start my solo project," says Sırma, who took inspiration from ***** "I loved how she wasn’t afraid of trying new things, and that's always been my goal." On the 'Instincts' EP, Sırma showcases that fearless spirit with adventurous arrangements blending elements of modern electronic and traditional Turkish music. "Intuition" opens with the drone of a yaylı tanbur and the distinctly Middle Eastern plucks of a kanun underneath Sırma's sweetly layered vocals, while "Clinched" features the bağlama, ney and ud, all instruments unfamiliar to most Western musicians. "I'm fascinated by my Turkish roots, and Turkish music in general," Sırma explains. "There are all sorts of incredible sounding Turkish instruments, and since I'm familiar with their sounds, I think my ear just wants to hear them in the music I compose, even if the rest of my music sounds pretty Western. Even to Turkish people this is all new because they're used to hearing these instruments in Turkish music, but I don't think they've ever heard them in anything like this." The EP nods to everything from ***** and Imogen Heap to Sigur Rós and múm, drawing rhythmic influence from EDM and dubstep to heighten the emotional intensity of Sırma's intricate melodies and complex harmonies. "I started writing the first song, 'Intuition,' right after I left school," says Sirma. "I was feeling confused and uncertain about the future. I'd left my country to pursue this dream, and that summer there was a lot of chaotic stuff happening in Istanbul, political protests where my friends were on the streets every single day. Some of them got hurt by the police and arrested, and I felt like my friends were fighting for my rights and I wasn't there. The whole song became about trusting and following your instincts in the face of doubt." "Clinched" tackles the ways in which people can use each other to bury physical and emotional pain, while "Cliff" was born from a recurring dream and the strange out-of-body experience it engendered, and "Trigger" revels in the everyday sensations of being alive. "It's about anything that makes me feel something," Sırma explains. "Rain, sunshine, water on my skin, everything I smell, everything I taste. I just try to focus on my feelings when I close my eyes and take it all in." That's the best way to listen to the music, too: eyes closed, focused on your feelings. More than just bridging two worlds with this EP, Sırma's created an entirely new one. Even in the face of doubt and betrayal, she's always trusted her instincts, and the rewards are here for all to share.