Mem Ararat

About Mem Ararat

Mem Ararat is a Kurdish singer, songwriter and saz player from Mardin Province and one of the leading names in the new wave of Kurmanji music in Turkey. He was born in 1981 in the village of Girkê Şêxê in the Dêrik district of Mardin. His family moved west for work when he was a child, and he later returned to the region and settled in Kızıltepe, where he worked in farming, construction and trade before turning to music full time.

He released his debut album, Quling, Ewr û Baran, in the mid-2010s, followed by Kurdîka (2016), Xewna Bajarekî (2018), Niştiman (2019) and Pesna Evînê. He writes and composes his own songs, starting from the melodies of Kurdish folk music and moving towards ethno-jazz and protest song, and his music has found a large young audience. Songs such as Payîz, Zozan, Dilo Ez Bimrim, Xatirxwestin and Çîçekê became widely known through their music videos.

His concerts in Turkey have repeatedly been cancelled by officials. In 2018 the governor of Diyarbakır revoked permission for a planned concert, and later shows, including in Mersin and Bursa, were also called off; Ararat has linked the bans to his singing in Kurdish and said they would not stop him singing in all Kurdish dialects. He has continued to perform widely in Turkey and Europe, and is living.

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