Teoman

Teoman—yeah, that Teoman—he’s basically a staple in Turkish acoustic rock. Guy’s real name is Fazli Teoman Yakupoglu, but who calls him that? You probably know at least one of his tracks, like “Paramparça” or “Senden Önce Senden Sonra.” He’s the type who ropes in other legends, too. Özlem Tekin does backing vocals on “Papatya,” and Şebnem Ferah’s popped up on more than one of his songs. Seriously, that’s a powerhouse lineup. He didn’t start out in music, though. First, he was buried in numbers—business administration and math at Boğaziçi University. Then, he switched gears: sociology, same place. Add a graduate degree in women’s studies from Istanbul University. Not your typical rock star backstory, right? His actual music career kicked off way back in ’86 with a band called Mirage. From there, he hopped around bands for a decade. It wasn’t until “Ne Ekmek Ne de Su” snagged first place at Roxy Müzik Günleri that people really started paying attention. Fast forward to 2011, dude announced he was quitting music—wild, right? But, just a year later, he was back at it, officially, and teamed up with Şebnem Ferah again. 2015 saw him drop “Eski Bir Rüya Uğruna,” which blew up. The next year, he put out a music video for “Limanında,” shining a light on a Syrian couple trying to get to Berlin. So, Teoman? He’s not just making music, he’s telling stories—sometimes gritty, always real.