Şebnem Ferah

Biography

Şebnem Ferah (born 12 April 1972) is a Turkish singer, songwriter, composer, and guitarist. She was the lead vocalist of the all-female hard rock band Volvox until 1994, after which she went on to pursue an illustrious solo career. Her music style varies from pop rock to hard rock though her later albums have progressively incorporated more of the hard rock sound.

Early life and Volvox

Şebnem Ferah was born on 12 April 1972 in Yalova to ethnic Turkish immigrant parents from Skopje, Yugoslavia. She first took solfeggio and instrumental lessons from her father who was also a teacher. She grew up listening to her father's Rumelian folk songs played with bağlama, mandolin and piano.
She got her first guitar when she was in the first year in boarding at Namık Sözeri Highschool of Bursa. She got acoustic lessons. During her second year, she hired a studio with her friends and formed the group Pegasus. The group had their first stage appearance during a rock festival in Bursa, in 1987. After a while, Pegasus disbanded. In 1988, Şebnem formed Volvox with four friends of hers that they named after the microorganism known as volvox, which they encountered in a biology lesson.
After graduating from high school, she attended Middle East Technical University, studying economics, and moved to Ankara with her sister. During this time, she met Özlem Tekin, who has later become another recognized pop-rock musician in Turkey, and Özlem joined Volvox. Volvox could not practice for a year and a half because the members experienced a hardship with coming together, with the other members except Özlem and Şebnem living in Istanbul. In her second year at the university, Şebnem changed her mind about being an economist; instead she dropped out and moved back to Istanbul.
In Istanbul, she attended classes on English language and literature at the Istanbul University. For two years she performed in various bars with Volvox until dissolution of the band in 1994.

Solo career

After the dissolution of the all-female rock band Volvox in the early 1990s, Şebnem Ferah began focusing on her solo career. Although short-lived, Volvox gave Ferah attention from professionals. Turkish diva Sezen Aksu and Aksu's writing/recording partner Onno Tunç saw Volvox on television. In a short time, Ferah sang back vocals for Sezen Aksu.
In 1996 Ferah released her first album Kadın×Kadın15 November 1996 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Vazgeçtim Dünyadan5:372Deli Kızım Uyan4:263İyi Gün Dostlarım5:184Bu Aşk Fazla Sana4:295Bırak Kadının Olayım4:046Fırtına5:477Yağmurlar5:078Yeniden Doğup Gelsem4:129Durma4:1710Buradan Göçerken3:4511Yağmurlar (enstrümantal)5:25 (Woman), which contained some of her best known songs, including Vazgeçtim Dünyadan (I Gave up on the World), Yağmurlar (Rains), Bu Aşk Fazla Sana (This Love Is Too Much for You), and Fırtına (Storm). They featured polished production from producer İskender Paydaş. These recordings came off much differently from how she would later perform the songs live. Kadın was a hit and many club and arena gigs followed its release. In 1998, she provided the singing voice of Ariel for the Turkish dubbing of The Little Mermaid.
Three years after her debut album, Ferah released her second album, Artık Kısa Cümleler Kuruyorum×Artık Kısa Cümleler Kuruyorum1999 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Oyunlar4:592Ay4:473Bugün4:454Kalbim3:165Herkes Bilsin İstedim4:266Oyunun Sonu5:327Üvey4:158Nefessiz Kaldım4:039Yorgun4:1310Artık Kısa Cümleler Kuruyorum4:1011Bugün (enstrümantal)6:16(1999). Continuing her collaboration with İskender Paydaş and musicians from the band Pentagram/Mezarkabul, she reduced the use of synthesized sounds in favor of a darker and heavier rock-oriented approach. Personal loss, including the death of her sister prior to the album’s release, influenced its emotional tone. While the album featured fewer mainstream-oriented songs, it contributed to the development of a dedicated fanbase.
In 2001, Ferah released her third studio album, Perdeler×Perdeler2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Sigara4:552Aşk3:483Sil Baştan5:094Nereye Kadar5:015Perdeler5:076Günaydın Sevgilim3:177Dünya4:388Saatim Çalmadan4:269Korkarak Yaşıyorsan3:3110Perdeler (feat. Apocalyptica)9:26, which leaned toward a more acoustic music. The album followed the death of her father during the 1999 İzmit earthquake. Aside from the lead single "Sigara", Perdeler produced limited chart success. The album also included a collaboration with the Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica on the title track.
Her next step was the fourth album, Kelimeler Yetse, was released in 2003. The album continued her exploration of introspective themes and featured songs such as "Ben Şarkımı Söylerken" and "Mayın Tarlası".
In 2005, she released her fifth studio album Can Kırıkları×Can Kırıkları1 January 2005 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Okyanus4:362Can Kırıkları5:493Bir Kalp Kırıldığında5:054Delgeç4:155Geçmişe Yolculuk5:536Ben Bir Mülteciyim (Güç)5:577Sana Bilmediğin Bir Şey Söyleyemem5:158Çakıl Taşları4:479Zaman Geçip Gidiyor4:2310Hoşçakal4:46, produced by Tarkan Gözübüyük. The album showcased her heavier side and was her most distorted recording. After her nationwide concert tour, a live CD/DVD 10 Mart 2007 Istanbul Konseri was released in 2007.
In December 2009, she released her sixth studio album Benim Adım Orman×Benim Adım Orman1 January 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Merhaba4:032Benim Adım Orman4:053Yalnız5:084İstiklal Caddesi Kadar4:525Eski5:026Mahalle5:527Ateşe Yakın4:428Serapmış5:099İnsanlık4:0210Bazı Aşklar4:4211Uçurtma5:1412Eski, Pt. 25:03 (My Name is Forest), features slow rock songs like Bazı Aşklar (Some Loves) and Eski (Old) while there were hard rock songs like, Merhaba (Hello) and Mahalle (Neighborhood). This album indicates her point of view for rock music.
On 12 April 2018, she released her latest album, Parmak İzi×Parmak İzi12 April 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Şarkılar yalan söylemez2Başka bir yol var3Koridor4Küllerinden5Vicdan6Son tango7Parmak izi8Sözde namus9Kıramazsın10Koyu (Fingerprint). It features the title track Koridor (Corridor).

Live performances

Kadın Album Tour (1997)
Artık Kısa Cümleler Kuruyorum Album Tour (1999)
Fanta Tour (2002, 2003, 2010 and 2013)
Coca-Cola Soundwave Tour (2006)
Istanbul Concert (2007) (with İstanbul Symphonic Project)
KoçFest (2007 and 2008)
Benim Adım Orman Album Tour (2010)
Turkey Tour (2011)
Vodafone Free Zone Tour (2011, 2012 and 2013)

Backing band

Throughout her solo career, Şebnem Ferah has performed with a rotating group of musicians who have contributed to her studio recordings and live performances. The members of her backing band have included:

Metin Türkcan – lead guitar
Aykan İlkan – bass guitar
Volkan Öktem – drums
Ozan Tügen – keyboards
Kerem Kabadayı – drums (earlier period)