‘Candan Ercetin - Opening concert’

To open this year's Balkan Trafik Festival, the Turkish singer of Albanian origin Candan Erçetin is proposing a concert of music from Turkey and the Balkans. This now legendary Francophile figure on the Turkish scene debuted with the group Klips ve Onlar when she represented her country in the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest. After studying classical opera at the Istanbul Conservatory she quickly became a household name in Turkey as a host of television and radio programmes. Her first album Hazırım (I am ready), on which she sings songs from Thrace and Macedonia, shot to the top of the charts on its release in 1995. Over the years, success and prizes have followed, including two MCM awards for her video clips. While continuing her television work, in 2009  she was appointed lecturer at Galatasaray University and began to work more closely with international film production. After a career spanning more than 20 years she is now firmly established worldwide as one of the best interpreters of Balkan songs, whether accompanied by historical arrangements or contemporary sounds.