Music makers

Yet another extremely enjoyable afternoon and evening on school campus for the previously annual event (but now the first time since 2019 due to covid) Fine Arts Festival, or FAF as it is usually known.  Highlight of the event was the evening performance by maNga who certainly knew how to entertain a very lively and enthusiastic young crowd. My personal highlight however has to be the time I spent talking to some of (my) most talented musical  graduates of 2019,  as we sat on the plateau in the early evening warmth. Extras include their band playing late afternoon, the Ottoman lodge where I lived when I worked here and one of the most famous campus cats, still ruling her domain, the plateau.

Manga (or maNga, per band's spelling) were formed in 2001 in Ankara. Manga are often labeled "Turkish ," .... but "Turkish" is a musical, not geographical .. -- the band fuses alternative metal, rap, and touches of electronica with Anatolian melodies. This blend of cosmopolitan rock and local traditions has made Manga into one of the biggest rock acts in Turkey, and in the late 2000s the band began to make inroads on the European scene, scoring at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2009.  (Spotify)