Mor ve Ötesi

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Mor ve Ötesi
Current members of Mor ve Ötesi
Background information
Origin	Istanbul, Turkey
Genre(s)	Rock
Years active	1995 - present
Label(s)	Pasaj
Website	morveotesi.com
Members
Harun Tekin (vocals and rhythm guitar) Kerem Kabadayı (drums) Burak Güven (bass) Kerem Özyeğen (lead guitar)
Former members
Alper Tekin (bass) Derin Esmer (vocals & guitar)

Mor ve Ötesi (literally meaning purple and beyond, making a pun with ultra-violet) is the name of a Turkish alternative rock band hailing from the city of Istanbul. Its four current members are Harun Tekin, Kerem Kabadayı, 'Burak Güven and Kerem Özyeğen. Former members include Alper Tekin and Derin Esmer. They are noted for their politically charged lyrics.

[edit] History of the band

Mor ve Ötesi was formed in 1995 with the line-up comprising of Kerem Kabadayı (drums), Harun Tekin (vocals & guitar), Derin Esmer (vocals & guitar) and Alper Tekin (bass). They released their first album Şehir in 1996 and played at their first live concert outside Istanbul at METU, Ankara. That year, Burak Güven replaced Alper Tekin on bass.

Bırak Zaman Aksın, their second album was released in 1999 to massive success. Just after its release, Derin Esmer moved to the USA and was replaced by prominent guitarist Kerem Özyeğen. After the devastating 1999 Kocaeli earthquake, Mor ve Ötesi started playing more on social and political themes. They were also very active in the opposition against the use of nuclear energy in Turkey.

In 2001, they realised their third album, "Gül Kendine". With Kerem Özyeğen, there was a noticeable change in the music, and after 17 August there was a noticeable change in lyrics. In the summer of 2003, Mor ve Ötesi's single, "Yaz" debuted, which was a cover of the famous song performed by the famous Turkish superstar Ajda Pekkan during the seventies.

Mor ve Ötesi performing on stage

Their fourth album "Dünya Yalan Söylüyor" was released in 2004. The album became their most popular album in Turkey. Even most of the people who didn't even listen to rock music also liked the hit songs from this album. Since their previous work was not as well known, many new fans were not aware that they weren't a new band. Althought this album has been their best selling album, it is not admired by their old fans as much as their previous work, and some have even seen it as a "betrayal". The album contained considerable political criticism against USA's activities both in Iraq and the rest of the world. The very same year, they received a Golden Orange Award for their music for the movie, "Mustafa Hakkında Her Şey".

Their fifth album "Büyük Düşler" (Big Dreams) was released on May 8, 2006. This is an album mainly dealing with the political problems of Turkey and the personal problems of the group members, including loss of family members and relationships. It has a darker tone compared to their previous albums. This album is regarded as a homage to their old fan base and a return to a style closer to their earlier albums. The first video was for the song "Şirket" (Corporation), a song criticising capitalism.