Mercan Erzincan, née Mercan à Âimà Âek (1976 in DivriÃÂi, Sivas Province), is a Turkish singer of Turkish folk songs and a player of the long-necked lute (baÃÂlama).
Mercan Erzincan was born into an Alevi family in the small Central Anatolian town of DivriÃÂi. In 1987, she began her music education studies at the Istanbul State Conservatory of Music, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1998. A year earlier, under her birth name Mercan à Âimà Âek, she released her first album, Alican'a AÃÂñt, featuring baÃÂlama and vocals, on the label ASM ("Arif SaàMüzik"), founded by Arif SaÃÂ. The Turkish-Alevi musician Arif Saà(born 1945) is considered one of the most influential baÃÂlama players of the second half of the 20th century, whose style shaped the next generation of baÃÂlama players. The baÃÂlama is considered a symbol of religious identity for Alevis. Erzincan then completed a master's degree in Turkish folk music (Türk halk müziÃÂi) at Haliç University in 2005.
Erzincan's 2006 master's thesis examines the relationship between Turkish folk songs (türkü) and their performance practice with specific musical instruments, as well as the cultural reception when musicians transfer musical genres to other instruments or into other contexts. She investigates this using the example of the West Turkish folk dance style Zeybek, which, like most Turkish folk dances, is accompanied outdoors by the conical oboe zurna and the cylindrical drum davul. Indoors, Zeybek dances are traditionally performed with the baÃÂlama and the spiked fiddle kabak-kemane. Amplifier systems now make it possible to play Zeybek melodies outdoors with stringed instruments. In such cultural adaptations, Erzincan distinguishes between a âÂÂnatural adaptationâ (occurring spontaneously, the work retains its character) and an âÂÂartistic adaptationâ (arrangement of the musical theme by a professional musician for their own instrument).
Mercan Erzincan has been married since 2000 to the musician and singer Erdal Erzincan (born 1971), also a student of Arif SaÃÂ. From 1994, she taught Turkish folk music and the saz at SaÃÂ's music school, Erdal Erzincan Müzik Merkezi, in Istanbul. Since 2010, Erzincan has taught these subjects at the Nâzñm Hikmet Academy of Music, Literature, Film, and Theatre, founded in 2009 by the Nâzñm Hikmet Cultural Association in Istanbul. Erzincan also gave lectures on Alevi folk music and the tradition of the bards (aà Âñk) and produced radio (2002 Radyo Barñà Â, 2003 Cem Radyo) and television (2007 Düzgün TV) programs on Turkish folk music.
The genres of Turkish folk songs that Erzincan performs include uzun hava (âÂÂlong melodyâÂÂ), zeybek (folk dance), aÃÂñt (lament), and deyià  (Alevi song). Mercan Erzincan performs solo and in duets with Erdal Erzincan and other baÃÂlama players and singers in Turkey and abroad. In addition, she also gave concerts as a member of two women's ensembles that combine music and dance with a feminist approach: Sözümüz Var à Âarkñlarla ("Words with Songs") from 2007 and Kñrk Yamalñ Bohça from 2008. Sözümüz Var à Âarkñlarla is based on a research project initiated in 2005 by the musician and singer Feryal ÃÂney within the framework of the folk music association Folklor Kulübü (BÃÂFK) at Istanbul's BoÃÂaziçi University. The project aims to collect folk songs (kadñn aÃÂzñ türküler) originating from women and categorize them in relation to the women's socio-cultural environment.
A CD compilation released in 2021 contains pieces by 36 Turkish folk musicians: Kadñnlar Dünyayñ ÃÂalñyor Söylüyor ("Women Play and Sing About the World"). Erzincan's contribution is an example of Alevi folk music. As a continuation of this project, a collection of essays with the same title, edited by ethnomusicologist ÃÂzlem DoÃÂuà  Varli, was published in 2022: Kadñnlar Dünyayñ ÃÂalñyor / Söylüyor Kuramsal Yaklaà Âñmlar ve Deneyimler ÃÂzerine ("Women Play/Sing About the World: Theoretical Approaches and Experiences"). Mercan Erzincan's essay deals with "female bards in Anatolian Alevism in the context of cultural memory and their reflection on contemporary Alevi music."
Mercan and Erdal Erzincan have a son.