DJ YAKUZA BIO
Turkish native Can Utkan, also known as DJ Yakuza, began his DJing career playing jazz and brasil in several clubs in Tokyo. Soon he started spinning at Kiss, alongside names like Jazz Brothers, U.F.O, Shuwa Tei and Silent Poets, focusing on styles like drumíníbass, break-beat and downtempo. Moving back to Turkey in 1999, he began working at Radio Oxigen, one of the most respected radio stations in Istanbul. With the help of his diverse taste of music, he defied the musical trends of the city and managed to be known as one of the very few creative DJs in his country. Not satisfied by only DJing in several cities of Europe and USA, he soon began working as a producer, collaborating with well-respected jazz musicians. Being influenced by his roots and ethnic sounds, he combined forces with Cem Yildiz, Richard Hamer and Murat Uncuoglu for the project Orient Expressions. They soon released their first album 'Divan', in which they created a synthesis of Turkish melodies, vocals, instrumental forms, electronic and jazzy sounds. They performed across Europe in countries such Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. Keeping busy on the djing front he has playes in numerous festivals in Istanbul and abroad, from Miami to Tokyo. 2008 saw the release of his first dj compilation called Labyrint. A blurb on the same compilation by the legendary Richard Dorfmeister sates that "Mr.Yakuza has always been the man in Istanbul when it comes to quality electronic music - trust his taste !". Joint ventures with names such as Bugge Wesseltoft or Ilhan Ersahin continue to prove that Yakuza can easily bridge the gap between dj-ing and live music. A series of bootleg edits by Dj Yakuza are currently gracing the international airwaves, getting support by luminaries such as Gilles Peterson and Rob Luis among others. He was also voted Turkey’s No.1 Dj by the newspaper “Hurriyet” not really an award to be taken literally he points out but more of a testimony to his wide reaching body of work including dj’ing, productions and his radio show. The journey continues…
Discography.
with Orient Expressions.
Divan (2004)
Kulliyat (2006)
Istanbul 1:26 A:M Remixes (2007)
Record of Broken Hearts (2008)
as Dj Yakuza
Labyrint (2008)
selam can..(dj yakuza...) teşekkürler.. ayrıca "orient ex..." yeni albüm haberi de çok sevindirici... performansınız ,müziğiniz süper.. yolunuz açık olsun sevgiyle...
selamm caann... müziğiniz mükemmel.. umarım yakın zamanda "orient expressions" yeni bir albüme başlar ve bu müjdeli haberi duyarız... sevgiler..,kolay gelsin.::)
RBMA is showcasing a whole lot of acts at Sonar Festival in Barcelona this week: including Steve Spacek, host of the Blackpocket Sessions show on RBMA Radio. And all the sets will be streamable from rbmaradio.com
RBMA Radio has a showcase on the 15th at Sonar by Night: the Spacek/Benji B Sound System (check their Birrarung Beats/Collideascope session in the archive at redbullmusicacademyradio.com - magical stuff) and Kirk Degiorgio presenting his As One project live for the 1st time ever.
Meanwhile in the Academy Lounge in the CCCB - there's a marvellous line up of acts & deejays. All the sets from this stage & the radio showcase will be available on demand at rbmaradio.com - some uploaded daily during Sonar and most in the weeks after the event. Douglas Greed (Freude am Tanzen), Flying Lotus, Stranjah (Metalheadz), Richard Eigner (Station 55), Compuphonic (Turbo), Aloe Blacc and a whole lot more recorded live at sonar.
I was lucky to listen to these guys at Babylon last night and I'm sorry for the ones who missed out on such a wonderful night.Well it wouldn't be that great if Yakuza weren't there.
