Acoustic Roots

The Mehmet Polat Trio is a spiritual but also an adventurous meeting between three masters and their magical instruments: the ney, kora and oud. With her roots in the Ottoman, Anatolian, Balkan and West-Afrikan music tradition, the trio knows how to colour the original compositions of Mehmet Polat with daring improvisations and grooves. And all that in the warmth and atmosphere of a chamber concert.
Last year their first CD Next Spring was released at the Belgian label Homerecords.
The album had a good reception at the international music critics and the trio has a full agenda.

The trio consists of:
Mehmet Polat (Turkey) Oud
Zoumana Diarra (Mali), Kora
Sinan Arat (Turkey), Ney

Mehmet Polat is from Turkey and is a skilled oud player, composer, ensemble leader and soloist who has many international tours on his name by now. He combines various music styles with his Alevi spiritual, Anatolian folk and Ottoman classical music background.
Although he appreciates the classical character and sound of the oud, he also does not hesitate to introduce innovating sounds. He added two extra bass strings to alter the timbre.

Zoumana Diarra is born in Mali and makes music since he was four. He was a guitar player at the legendary orchestra Railband du Bamako, but also with Super Biton de Segou, Super Djattta Band (with Zani Diabate), Super Rail Band, Alpha Blondy and Salif Keita.
He renewed the kora by playing with no less than 44 strings. He is, like said before also guitar player, ngoni and balafon player.

Sinan Arat is just like Mehmet Polat from Turkey, but he now lives in the Netherlands. He studied at the Ege University in Turkey. His main instrument is the ney.
The ney is an end-blown flute that has a prominent role in meditative Tasavvuf, Persian, Turkish and Arabic music.
For more information

1. One drop in the ocean
2. There life begins again
3. Summer dream
4. Next spring
5. Mehtab
6. You are not alone
7. Whirling in the jungle
8. Amarula
   All compositions by Mehmet Polat