| maNga | |
|---|---|
maNga in Oslo |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Ankara, Turkey |
| Genres | Alternative metal,[1] Nu metal[2], Progressive metal |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | GRGDN Sony Music Entertainment |
| Website | manga.web.tr |
| Members | |
| Ferman Akgül (vocals) Yağmur Sarıgül (guitar) Cem Bahtiyar (bass) Efe Yılmaz (turntables) Özgür Can Öney (drums) |
|
| Past members | |
| Orçun Şekerusta (bass) | |
Manga (officially stylized as maNga) is a Turkish nu metal band whose music is mainly a fusion of Anatolian melodies with electronic elements. In 2009, they won both the Best Turkish Act award from MTV Turkey and consequently the Best European Act award from MTV Networks Europe in MTV Europe Music Awards 2009. They represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "We Could Be the Same" and took second place.
Contents |
maNga was formed in the year 2001, being named after the word for Japanese comic books, Manga. Initially, they were mostly underground, playing covers of other rock and metal bands. They came into the public spotlight after finishing runner-up at the Sing your song' music contest. This caught the attention of artist manager Hadi Elazzi (GRGDN), who immediately promoted the band to Sony Music, which resulted in their first, self-titled album being published in 2004, becoming a mass hit.[3]
Following this, they performed at various music festivals and have worked with such famous Turkish singers as Koray Candemir (of Kargo fame), Vega and Göksel. Most of their songs are written by the group members.
The genre of their music was described by Yağmur, the author of most of the songs, as having a touch on nu-metal, rap, hip-hop and mixing these all in a "pot" with melodies of Anatolia.
maNga's duet with Göksel is included in one of the most successful (with almost a million viewers[4]) Turkish films, Sınav (featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme).[5][6] Their song Bir kadın çizeceksin was featured among the music of the FIFA 06 game.
The band is considered a headliner for several Turkish music festivals, including Saklıfest,[7] Patlıcan,[8] Rokofest[9] and Rock'n Coke.
maNga took to the stage at the Wembley Arena in London, together with Tarkan on 13 April 2008, but was then cancelled because of the technical problems. They then again took to the stage in London at the O2 Academy, Islington on 4 December 2009.[10]
On 12 January 2010 the Turkish broadcaster TRT announced that maNga would be the Turkish representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.[11] They came second with 170 points, behind Germany.[12]
Members of the band:
Ferman, who was born in Ankara, has graduated from Gazi University Architecture department and is currently doing a PhD in the Marmara University Cinema department. Ferman, who started his music career playing the guitar, had been in a variety of music groups as a soloist and appeared on stage quite a lot of times. He joined maNga at the beginning of 2002.
Born on 26 August 1979, in Antalya, Yağmur received musical training during primary school in the piano and violin before moving on to the guitar. He became a student of the piano at Hacettepe Conservatorium, of the violin at the preparational programme of Bilkent University, the guitar at Ankara Anadolu Fine Arts High School and now studies guitar at the Music Faculty of Gazi University. At the Sing Your Song music contest, where maNga finished 2nd in 2002, he was chosen "Best Assistant Musician". He is currently a Cort endorsee.[13]
Cem was born in Denizli. He took lessons in classical guitar at high school and finished his musical study at the Denizli Conservatory. Cem became a student at Bilkent University in Ankara and now does some work with Göksel and Emre Aydın.
Efe was born in Ankara. He started making remixes early on in his life with equipment set up in his home. He studied computer technology at the University of South Florida in the USA and currently studies Business Administration at Anadolu University.
The set he uses:
Özgür was born in Ankara and simultaneously studied Astronomy at Ankara University and Business Administration at Anatolia University . Özgür has composed music for theatrical plays. In his free time he is engaged with martial arts, particularly kick-boxing.
| Year | Album | Sales | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | maNga
|
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| 2009 | Şehr-i Hüzün
|
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Mutlaka Yavrum
|
| 2006 | Sınav Soundtrack
|
| Year | Single | Peak position | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TUR Rock[14] |
SWE [15] |
SWI [16] |
UK [17] |
RUS [18] |
|||
| 2009 | "Dünyanın Sonuna Doğmuşum" | 1 | — | — | — | 335 | Şehr-i Hüzün |
| "Beni Benimle Bırak" | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Cevapsız Sorular" | 2 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "We Could Be the Same" | 5 | 29 | 56 | 129 | — | TBA |
| "Fly to Stay Alive" | 2 | — | — | — | — | ||
Major festivals maNga will perform or have performed at so far:
maNga has made the music for Aşık Veysel's poem Kara Toprak, and later wrote a completely new lyrics for the song which became known as Dursun Zaman.
On 13 August 2006, maNga became the first Turkish rock band to take stage at the Sziget Festival, Budapest, Hungary. In 2006 they also had concerts in the Netherlands and Germany.
The band was to take stage in the Wembley Stadium in London, together with Tarkan, but Manga did not perform due to technical difficulties on 13 April 2008.[24]
They also played in London's O2 Academy Islington on 4 December in 2009.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Emre Aydın |
Best European Act in the MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 |
Succeeded by Marco Mengoni |
| Preceded by Hadise |
Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 |
Succeeded by Yüksek Sadakat |