Ramazan Kubat, known as Kubat, is a Turkish folk singer and composer distinguished with his particular style and his applied use of electronic instruments in his songs.
Background
Kubat was born in Antwerp in 1974. His father was a Turkish Alevi and his mother is a Sunni Muslim Belgian from Emirdağ-Karacalar village. He started to play his father"s "cura" (a smaller version of bağlama) at the age of five, he sang in a restaurant at age eight and was even admitted in his teens into a 300-member church choir as its only Muslim member according to his web site.
Career
He is now based in Turkey since over a decade, he was advantaged by the opportunities and outlets his talents found already at a very early age. Based principally in Turkey as of the end the 1980s, Kubat released his first album, carrying the same title as his screen name, "Kubat", in 1996. Five other albums, each presenting particular characteristics, have been released by Kubat.
These are;
1998: Bugün (Today)
1999: Bir ayrılık, bir yoksulluk, bir ölüm (A separation, a poverty, a death)
2001: Arşiv (Archive) 1-2-3.
Consisting of a set with three albums uniting 35 anonymous Turkish folk songs, this album was notable in displaying Kubat reaching deep into the traditions, to come out strengthened in his art The album was accompanied by an 80-page booklet prepared in eight languages giving details of the story related to each song.
2003: Lokman on the other hand was a tentative tour de force encompassing diverse influences from rock music, popular music, jazz and classical music introduced into Turkish folk music
His efforts for combining the traditions with international and novel elements were consecrated in a huge concert in 2002, orchestrated by René Giessen, titled "Anadolu Güneşi" (Anatolian Sun) and held in Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center. His most recent album, Yare doğru (Towards the loved one), announced to be in a more conservative outlook, is being released.