Check Out Süeda Catakoglu’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Süeda Catakoglu.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a composer, pianist, singer, and producer from Turkey based in Boston. I am a full-tuition scholar and I am studying professional music with concentrations in Contemporary Writing production, Jazz Composition, and piano performance at the Berklee College of Music.

I started my music education at Bilkent University Music and Preparatory School in Ankara and continued at Ankara State Conservatory in the classical piano department. I participated in competitions – festivals and got prizes in Turkey and Europe. In 2016, I got accepted to Barenboim Said Academy in Berlin with a DAAD German governmental scholarship, where I studied classical piano as well. I performed in various venues in Turkey and Europe as well as I performed at Berklee’s live music events and shows.

My first debut album Sueda Sings Sezen has been entirely arranged and produced by me and co-produced by my friend Kara Snethlage. This album was released on all digital platforms through Ahenk Müzik. I write, arrange, and produce songs that are stylistically influenced by Turkish music, Jazz, Musical theatre, and European Cabaret. Also, I am an active performer as well as a private piano/ music theory instructor. My music has a lot of emphasis on political satire and criticism of governments that leads to an activist approach. My lyric writing has a lot of influence from some Turkish singer-songwriters and poets such as Cem Karaca,Cemal Süreya, Tanju Okan, Turgut Uyar, Timur Selçuk and Edip Cansever.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Of course there were obstacles as well as opportunities that helped me to find my voice as a musician. I wanted to release my debut EP with my own songs when I spoke with record labels and sent them my demos. There were several record labels that were interested in signing with me, however it was not an easy decision for me since it is my very first release and very first contract with a label. When Ahenk Music asked me about singing these songs and doing this additional tribute album to Sezen Aksu, I found the idea very exciting since Sezen Aksu is one of the most significant singer-songwriters who influenced my writing.

However, even though the entire project was very exciting and inspiring, I knew that producing a ten-song album would not be easy while studying full-time in an institution such as Berklee College of Music, where the workload is quite intense. But I had the best team, first of all an amazing engineer – co-producer, my friend Kara, Filippo, Dennis, Kerem, Yagmur, and many more who really supported me in figuring out these difficulties. Although we had a deadline to do this record, we managed to release it on time. We are very happy about the radio plays that we had on one of the most sophisticated radio stations in Turkey- Istanbul Radyo Voyage, as well as the feedback that we have been receiving so far from journalists, editors and critiques from music magazines.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I switched from being a classical musician to a jazz musician, being a pianist to a singer – a cabaret performer, and being just the performer to composer-performer. Having a classical background in piano and building new skills as a jazz musician as well as a composer at Berklee has led me to have a broader perspective. I am planning to play this album in different venues and festivals in Europe and USA. Also I am starting to record my debut EP which will feature my original songs ( both music and lyrics).

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I am aiming to be a performer-composer who is based in the United States and plays in music festivals in Europe. Producing and performing my songs forms an important part of my musical identity; therefore, I definitely see myself doing this in the future. Besides music, I am a theatre enthusiast and I am definitely planning to do some theater and movie projects including writing my one person cabaret show after my graduation at Berklee. Since I am also an educator, I would be willing to do workshops about songwriting and maybe seminars or talks regarding the mentality of performing musicians and regarding exploring the self-creativity for songwriters and composers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://suedacatakoglu.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sueda_catakoglu/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sueda.catakoglu/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/süeda-çatakoğlu-863b54114/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l2yHagm2wf2nSh_N_GkQfF0J6RUOP5NYQ&si=3tYlPv3JYg65Z93n
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/7IkDKeAGzMGVONrYO4qQgn?si=N0XfEFQYQeyTWTuh5Yx35g

Image Credits
Caglayan Dursun (for the ones that I had a yellow jacket) Yagmur Tamer (for the ones with pink dress and white hat) Golden Lions Photography (the one with green dress)