Roman Music

Gypsyness and gypsy music performance in world music discourses: The case of Selim Sesler and Hüsnü Şenlendirici

This article examines two of the most popular 'Roman' (gypsy) musicians in the Turkish world music market, Selim Sesler and Hüsnü Şenlendirici. The article discusses how the notions of gypsyness (Romanness) and the gypsy community and locality are discursively articulated and reconstructed so as to constitute particular elements of 'world music' discourses in Turkey. Romanness and its associated elements wear many masks in this discursive process. On the one hand, Romanness symbolizes popular Roman images and their associated notions (such as Roman community or locality, performance styles associated with gypsies, ethnicity, life styles, etc.); but on the other hand, Romanness is used to constitute various marketing discourses of world music (such as the senses of sincerity, locality, exoticity, genuineness, pristineness, authenticity, etc). Despite their seeming disparity, these discourses of Romanness are oftentimes overlapped and redefined; or they replace each other when they are used in the formation of the marketing strategies and musical subjectivities of the actors. The discussion unbundles these various elements of Romanness and traces their articulation into world music discourses.

Turkish pop singer

Rafet El Roman
Rafet El Roman in
Birth name	Rafet Yaşdut
Born	() 25 August (age&#;54) Uzunköprü, Edirne, Turkey
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	&#;present

Musical artist

Rafet Yaşdut (born 25 August ), better known by his stage name Rafet El Roman, is a Turkish pop singer of Romani heritage.^[1] He holds German citizenship.^[2]

Biography[edit]

When El Roman's parents moved to Germany in , he lived with his grandmother until he was 7 years old at Uzunköprü. After he finished first grade at primary school in the village, he was sent to his parents in Germany. He completed his education in Germany. He speaks German, English, Italian and Turkish. He started writing his first lyrics at 16 years old.

In he contacted Stefan Somogyfoki from Midnight Entertainment and in he played the leading role in the fantasy movie Defender. At this time he learned a lot about film making and acting. Also, he started to co-direct his own fighting scenes in movies. Everyone could see his talent for acting and the art of making movies. At this time he started to write his first songs "Benimlen" and "Seni Seviyorum".

He gave his first stage performances in In , he was voted "Best of the Year" by Saarlaendischer Rundfunk Radio. In , he was awarded with Media Artist Award in Frankfurt Cultural Festival. In August , he returned to Turkey and released his first solo album. The album Gençliğin Gözyaşı (The Tears of the Youth) sold over one million having hits like "Sorma Neden", "Seni Seviyorum" and "Amerika". In October , he released his second album En Güzel Günler Senin Olsun (Have The Most Beautiful Days). In , he released his first solo album in Europe. In , he played in the film Propaganda with major stars of the Turkish cinema history such as Kemal Sunal and Metin Akpınar.

In May , he had a huge success with his third album Hayat Hüzünlü (Sorrowful Life). In , Rafet El Roman vocalized the song Bir Gol Daha (One More Goal) with Mehmet Ali Erbil for the Turkey national football team's Euro campaign. In , he was the principal actor in the cinema film Offside (Dar Alanda Kısa Paslaşmalar) with co-star Müjde Ar. In , with his own lyrics and song, he sang a duet with Aşkın Nur Yengi titled "Peşindeyim" (I Am in the Pursue of You).

He released the fourth album Hanimeli (Lonicera) in January and his fifth album 5 Nr. Aşk (Love Nr. 5) in April He released his 6th album, Sürgün (Exile), in the summer of and this album sold the best. The album had been one of the favorite albums of with many hit songs. In summer , he released the seventh album Kalbimin Sultanı (The Sultan of My Heart) in honour of his 10th Year. The album became the top seller after initial release. He received the MÜ-YAP "Golden Butterfly", POPSAV "The Most Successful Pop Singer of the Year" awards. In summer , he released the album Gönül Yarası (Heart Pain).

Rafet El Roman aims to introduce new names to the music market with his music production company "RER" established in Also, it is among the greatest desires of Rafet El Roman to be a scenarist and director of his own film.

Personal life[edit]

He has two daughters with former wife, beauty contest winner Tuğba Altıntop&#;[tr]. The couple divorced in They received wide interest in the media with the custody battle over their daughters. He also has a son with his former partner Yeşim Eryıldız. In , he married his second wife Ceren Kaplakarslan in Germany. The two got divorced in August ^[3]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Singles[edit]

• - Peşindeyim (feat. Aşkın Nur Yengi)
• - Senden Sonra
• - Adımla Seslendi
• - Şipşak
• - Suç Bende mi
• - Teşekkürler Türkiyem
• - Sen Olmazsan (feat. Hülya Avşar)
• - Özledim
• - Unuturum Elbet (feat. Derya)
• - Bağışla Beni (feat. Faridam)
• - Bahçede Yeşil Çınar (feat. Ayşe Nur Keskin)
• - Anlamazdın (Fikret Şeneş Şarkıları) ()
• - Seveni Suçlama
• - Paramparça (feat. Burak King)
• - Öldüğün Gün İnanırsın (Kitaplara İnanmayan)
• - İki Dakika (feat. Nur Usta)
• - Bağışla Beni
• - Şubat (feat. Ayten)
• - Milyon Yara

Filmography[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Gypsyness and gypsy music performance in world music discourses: The case of Selim Sesler and Hüsnü Şenlendirici

This article examines two of the most popular 'Roman' (gypsy) musicians in the Turkish world music market, Selim Sesler and Hüsnü Şenlendirici. The article discusses how the notions of gypsyness (Romanness) and the gypsy community and locality are discursively articulated and reconstructed so as to constitute particular elements of 'world music' discourses in Turkey. Romanness and its associated elements wear many masks in this discursive process. On the one hand, Romanness symbolizes popular Roman images and their associated notions (such as Roman community or locality, performance styles associated with gypsies, ethnicity, life styles, etc.); but on the other hand, Romanness is used to constitute various marketing discourses of world music (such as the senses of sincerity, locality, exoticity, genuineness, pristineness, authenticity, etc). Despite their seeming disparity, these discourses of Romanness are oftentimes overlapped and redefined; or they replace each other when they are used in the formation of the marketing strategies and musical subjectivities of the actors. The discussion unbundles these various elements of Romanness and traces their articulation into world music discourses.

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