Biography
Sjahin During was born in Amsterdam, in 1972, of a Turkish mother and a Dutch father. He grew up in Istanbul till the age of six. Then, his family moved back to the Netherlands, to a small island in the North Sea , called Texel. His grandfather used to be the leader of the second violin section at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orkest, his own father untill the present day is a violin builder. Sjahin failed his career with the violin at the early age of 6 and decided never to pick up any instrument again. At the age of 18, however, a major change took place in his life when he discovered the force and inner beauty of percussion music. The magic world of percussion became his obsession. As there was no drumshop to be found in the nearest 200 km, his father invited Sjahin to his atelier ,and Sjahin thus build his own conga's, batá's, djembé and cajón.
After finishing highschool, Sjahin immediately headed for Amsterdam to meet his first teachers in the art of percussion. After dropping in and out of several schools, he made the decision to devote his life to the art of drumming.
Read full biography ↓
In 1996 Sjahin won a grant from the Dutch Cultural Ministry and went for a period of a year and a half to Havana, Cuba , to study latin and Afro-Cuban percussion with various masters.
After returning to the Netherlands, Sjahin performed with various kinds of projects and bands; but soon chose his own path. He initiated projects and founded new ensembles, such as Yoruba Ilu, Bayuba Cante, TurQumstances and Tarhana 'nomads in music'. A lesson he learned from Irakere's master percussionist Angá Díaz was to learn the tradition thoroughly, but to let it speak into something new and truly of oneself.
After a period of 12 years of studying and performing Afro Cuban music, Latin, Jazz, Flamenco, Oriental, Dance theater & Pop music, Sjahin , felt the need of a new approach. To be able to play and create a different sound, rhythms, contrast, and a different rythmical concept, he decided to go back to Istanbul and study the Anatolian & Oriental rhythms, and instruments, such as : Darbuka, Bendir and Erbane (Daf).
Having studied and still studying with great masters , Sjahin , now, tries to integrate his new vocabulary into a wider musical context, and create his own sound and set up.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.