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Brenna MacCrimmon is a Canadian folk singer from Toronto, Ontario, who has been performing, studying and teaching Balkan and Turkish music since the late 1980s. She speaks and sings perfect Turkish and is internationally acclaimed as a Turkish folk singer.

Her interest in Turkish music started with a trip to a local library in Burlington, Ontario when she was still a teenager. She describes this incident: "I came across these Turkish albums, and I was really intrigued, there was just an emotional communication." While taking an ethnomusicology class at University of Toronto in the early 1980s, MacCrimmon sought out local Turkish musicians and was inspired to learn a folk instrument called the baglama. She then began playing and singing in a Turkish community band.

She grew interested in the Turkish branch of Balkan songs known as Rumeli folksongs. She studied Turkish musical theory and combed archives and recordings to uncover nearly forgotten gems. She has visited Greece and Turkey several times, and has also lived and studied in Istanbul, where she did research with people of Rumeli (Balkan-Turkish) descent. During her five-year stay in Istanbul, she immersed herself in Turkish culture, and sang regional folk music at festivals and special events.

She formed Orkestar Keyif with Beth Cohen, Paul Brown, Polly Ferber and Haig Manoukian.

She is featured in the 2005 documentary film Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul, directed by Fatih Akın.

Tracks:

1. Evlerine Varagele Usandım (trad./Ryan Francesconi/Dan Cantrell) 4:16
2. Kar Yağar Alçaklare (trad.) 4:39

3. Dolama Dolamayı (trad.) 4:41

Prelistening:

4. Oj Ti Mome Ohrigance (Koco Petrov/Ivan Terziev) 6:35

5. Yıldız Dağı İşte de Geldim Yanına (trad.) 5:35

6. Şemsiyemin Ucu Kare (trad.) 5:39

7. Getme Gel (Sayeed Rustemov/trad.) 6:39

Prelistening:

8. Kamran Olsam (Sava Çağman) 6:08

Prelistening:

9. Sabah Sabah Seyredelim Yalıyı (trad.) 6:39

10. Bir Allahı Tanıyalım (Ali İzzet Özkan) 5:45

11. Kuşların Geçiş Taksimi 1:59

12. Mussels in the Bay (Brenna MacCrimmon) 6:18

13. Son Geçiş 2:38

 

Total playing time: 52:05

Directed and produced by Brenna MacCrimmon

Recorded 2006 – 2008 in the USA and Canada

© Green Goat Music