It isn’t often that you discover an artist who can change your perception of music, but I was blessed to experience such a phenomenon in the tiny Bush Hall in West London several weeks ago. I planned to have dinner with a friend that evening who mentioned he was going to a concert to help film a music video. He asked me if I wanted to go along and, as someone who appreciates live music, I accepted.
On the way to the venue, I googled the artist whose concert I would be attending in several short hours: Büşra Kayıkçı. I toyed with the idea of listening to her debut album, Places, which was to be the focus of the concert.. However, going into it completely blind left me speechless. Nothing could have prepared me for the breathtaking experience of Kayıkçı’s live performance.
Kayıkçı was raised on art in all of its forms in her home city of Istanbul. At age 9 she began piano lessons, studied ballet and attended art school on the weekends. In university, she studied architecture, specializing in interior and environmental design. This multi-disciplinary appeal to the creative process has remained present in her approach to composition, as she describes her song-writing as an immersion into other forms of art and how this helps her to “untangle the musical knots and blockages that occur in my mind from time to time.”
Despite never having heard her songs in my life, hearing them live felt like a homecoming of sorts. The meticulously planned catalogue, intertwined with her brief explanations and stories about the essence of each piece, created a captivating atmosphere that builds around the audience. The picturesque, quaint concert hall perfectly complemented the humble grace with which Kayıkçı explores ideas and pieces, as if playing each of them for the first time. Her passion and sheer love for music cannot be overlooked, and shines through in every aspect of her performance and compositions.
Goethe once said, “Music is liquid architecture; architecture is frozen music,” a perfect observation for Kayıkçı’s debut album, Places. Many of the pieces were written during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when many of us became hyper-aware of the spaces we were in, or the places we were missing. Kayıkçı was no exception to this, with each song representing a destination that held value to her or reminded her of different points throughout her life.
A stand-out moment during the concert was when Kayıkçı explained the meaning behind her song, “Old Friend.” Her soft voice rang out across the concert hall, much like the piano she had been playing moments before; gentle but drawing the attention of every ear in the room. She described the feeling of loneliness she felt at being separated from her beautiful acoustic piano during lockdown and how she had written this song in a rush of emotion after finally being reunited. She smiled fondly while recounting the story, turning her gaze to the venue’s piano in front of her every now and again, as if reminiscing a lost love with a new friend.
“Old Friend” beautifully encapsulates the anxiety that many of us felt during our separation from loved ones during lockdowns, and the joy and love that was released when we finally were able to connect with them again. The ending lingers, mimicking the bittersweet feeling of leaving after a joyous reunion and this nostalgic notion is carried throughout the rest of the album.
The most popular piece on the album, Olive Tree, exemplifies Kayıkçı’s ability to create a universal nostalgia from her own experiences. The soft opening could somewhat be mistaken for meekness but as the song shifts to a minor key, the listener is swept with a deep melancholy. The repetitiveness of the song emphasises how the same place can become something different from your memory and eventually evolve into something you don’t recognise. She described her experience of revisiting a familiar family holiday destination after years away, and with only her mother instead of the many relatives she would previously visit with. She found the place much different from her beautiful memories. Without the presence of her family, the once stunning scenery and nature felt bare, almost tedious. The piece reflects the sad realisation that as you have grown to an adult, the magic of certain places no longer exists and imitates the sad longing that many of us have felt to return to our childhoods.
In creating the ‘architecture’ of her pieces, Kayıkçı employs a range of innovative techniques now established in post-classical music in her own unique way. The first piece on the album “The Middle Of…” uses the plucking of the piano strings to draw the listener in and create a sense of intrigue for what is to come throughout the rest of the album. She also utilises padded hammers, creating an abstract tone throughout her songs. The commonplace sounds of the squeaking stool and the movement of the pedal add to the comfort of the album. Ethereal bass and electronic effects contrast with the versatile piano, creating something that is completely extraordinary and unique to Kayıkçı.
Many students view piano music as something to play in the background while studying and overlook it when searching for new albums and artists to immerse themselves in. I have made the same mistake in the past but with the serendipitous introduction to Büşra Kayıkçı and her masterful artistry, I am sure to never leave piano music solely for study playlists again.
Kayıkçı continues her European tour until mid-February and tickets can be purchased here. To check out her debut album and other beautiful pieces, click here.
