Yüksel Baltacı is an artist known as a composer lyricist and musician who emerged from the Black Sea musical tradition. Baltacı is recognized for his works rooted in traditional Black Sea melodies and throughout his music career has produced individual pieces as well as participated in collaborative projects with various artists. Recently he has gained widespread attention for the music of the TV series Taşacak Bu Deniz broadcast on TRT 1.

A photograph taken during Yüksel Baltacı’s interview with Anadolu Agency (Anadolu Agency)

Birth and Life

Yüksel Baltacı was born in 1973 in Kütahya but is originally from Person from Trabzon. His curiosity sparked during his studies at Van Gölü Technical and Industrial Vocational High School led him to engage more closely with music. After moving to Istanbul he continued his musical activities as an amateur and developed a close relationship with the culture and musical tradition of the Black Sea region during his childhood and youth; this cultural environment contributed significantly to shaping his musical direction in later years. ^【1】

Information regarding the artist’s private life has been shared only sparingly with the public.

Evolution Toward a Musical Career

Yüksel Baltacı’s connection to music began at an early age. Starting his musical journey by playing the bağlama he continued his amateur work in Istanbul and gradually transitioned into professional music production. In his compositions based on Black Sea music he merged traditional melodies with contemporary arrangements. In an interview the artist revealed that he composed part of a piece he wrote in middle school and noted that he plays nearly fifteen instruments. ^【2】

Songs

Among Yüksel Baltacı’s known works are the following:

• Taşacak Bu Deniz
• Uçan Atmaca İken
• Krimata
• Elbet (Krimata)
• Deli Olmişum Deli
• Bin Kere Öldüm
• Karabulut
• Tecelli
• Ela Mana
• Gidelum
• Selamet
• Son Türkü
• Viran Oldum
• İçumdeki Yara
• Çekseydun Beni Dara
• Efkar Ustine Efkar
• Senun Canun Sağ Olsun
• Ağarsar Dereleri
• Çaykara Horon
• Nasil Ayrilacağum
• Çektum 20 Senedir
• Nasil Sevdum
• Ayletme Beni
• Ben Gene Sana Vurgunum
• Bozmişum Yeminleri
• Bezdum Allah
• Syndrofos
• Haram

Achievements

In addition to his Turkish compositions Yüksel Baltacı has also composed in Romanian. His composition Nayino appeared on the 2011 album by the group Karmate and helped establish his reputation within music circles. In 2013 he wrote both the lyrics and music for İkorona performed by Nuray Aksoy. In 2014 he wrote the lyrics for Bayramın Olsun performed by Altan Civelek on the album Karadeniz’e Kalan 2. The same year his song Kalbinin Yarısıyım with both lyrics and music by him was featured in the TRT 1 series Diğer Yarım significantly increasing his public recognition.

Projects

In addition to his collaborations with various artists Yüksel Baltacı is also known for his television series music. He wrote both the lyrics and music for the songs Divane and Manamo featured on Resul Dindar’s album Divane and also authored the lyrics for the track Hasret on the same album.

One of the artist’s projects that reached the broadest audience is the TV series Taşacak Bu Deniz broadcast on TRT 1. The music used in the series heightened public interest in Black Sea melodies and made Baltacı’s compositions more visible to the general public. ^【3】