Minor Empire

This time I’m introducing you to a legendary Turkish/Canadian band named Minor Empire.

It has been 10 years since they released their first LP album, “Second Nature“. In this long period, they made another LP (“Uprooted” 2017) and a single (“Yeşil Ayna” 2020). Their unique style, which has a dominant Turkish folk music flavor, together with contemporary elements gives Minor Empire a special place for global music listeners.

When we come to the reason for my writing this post is the video that Minor Empire shared recently. It is the clip for one of their songs, “Uyuttum Atları” (“I Lulled the Horses to Sleep”), from “Uprooted” album. I enjoy this video in many different ways.

Firstly, I love to see new videos for a bit older songs, in this case we have a 4-year-old song that recently got a movie. Each story has its own time and in that kind of works, as you will see, sometimes it is better to wait that time and don’t be in rush.

The song is like a melodic monument for women who get killed every day, every week, every year. And in its dreamlike video of the song, they are searching for those women in woods, air, and in nature. Maybe one other thing that they are seeking is the meaning of violence against women if there can be any…

In all good songs, you will hear the melody that tells a story, independent from the lyrics and the language. And in some cases like this one, that story finds the right visual support which doubles its strength.

The core of the Minor Empire are Özgü Özman (vocal) and Ozan Boz (guitar & drums). In “Uyuttum Atları”, lyrics belong to Özgü while the song composed and arranged by Ozan. A bunch of good musicians playing with them: Chris Gartner (bass), Michael Occhipinti (guitar), Lina Allemano (trumpet), and Patrick Graham (Taiko Japanese Drums). In the video, directed by also Ozan, we see actress Haley Midgette with Öykü.

Hope this musical and visual story affects you as much as it affects me.

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Minor Empire on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, www.

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