A TWICE TOLD TALE

One fine autumn day, Santi (from Asunción, Paraguay) and Tuğçe (from Istanbul, Turkey) have crossed paths in a small town in the middle of the “heartland” US. From this moment on, their lives have become webs of inquiry and revelation as they have jointly devoted forces to mastering the art of musical storytelling. Drawing on a wide palette of ideas and influences, Santi & Tuğçe have created an enchanting world with their music in which the characters are driven by passion and a zest for life. A world where mythical creatures return home after an epic quest to an island surrounded by land, where a wise woman prepares potions to heal the poet, the dreamer, and the disillusioned; where planets collide and create new patterns in the cosmic swirl; where two starry-eyed lovers sail away on a sea turtle spaceship to places unknown; and where self-aware, compassionate robots resolve ancient paradoxes in their mission to rescue humanity.

On this fine autumn day, thirteen years after their fortuitous encounter, Santi & Tuğçe, now based in the ‘center of electronic music’ Berlin, present their latest musical odyssey: “A Twice Told Tale”. Filled with unmistakable charm and complexity, “A Twice Told Tale” conjures up stories that connect with something deep within the listener. Told with emotional intensity and intricacy, these are songs for and about everyone.

The first track, “Hikâye” (“Tale”) tells a long tale, a tale that is “a little naïve, a little rebellious, and a little tender”. Life is fleeting, leaves will fall, colors will fade, and before we know it, it will be time to depart from this beautiful earth. Yet the tale we have lived to tell and the love we have lived for will remain.

The second track, “Kuyu” (“The Well”), offers a peak into the deep, invisible corners of the heart, full of yearning and eternal questions, to which no one knows the answers. After all, “who has seen and who has brought news from the dark shore across?”

The third track, “Bulut” (“Cloud”), describes the perpetual cycle of change and metamorphosis in nature through the imagery of a playful cloud that rises from the seas to clear blue skies, and goes on a multicolored journey “perhaps towards the water, perhaps towards the earth, or perhaps towards a poem”.

All Tracks by: Santi & Tuğçe
Vocals and Lyrics: Tuğçe Kurtiş
Piano: Pier Luigi Salami
Cover Art: Gamze Yalçın

Download/Stream

Santi & Tuğçe - A Twice Told Tale

A TWICE TOLD TALE

One fine autumn day in late September, Santi (from Asunción, Paraguay) and Tuğçe (from Istanbul, Turkey) have crossed paths in a small town in the middle of the “heartland” US. From this moment on, their lives have become webs of inquiry and revelation as they have jointly devoted forces to mastering the art of musical storytelling. Drawing on a wide palette of ideas and influences, Santi & Tuğçe have created an enchanting world with their music in which the characters are driven by passion and a zest for life. A world where mythical creatures return home after an epic quest to an island surrounded by land, where a wise woman prepares potions to heal the poet, the dreamer, and the disillusioned; where planets collide and create new patterns in the cosmic swirl; where two starry-eyed lovers sail away on a sea turtle spaceship to places unknown; and where self-aware, compassionate robots resolve ancient paradoxes in their mission to rescue humanity.

On this fine autumn day in late September, thirteen years after their fortuitous encounter, Santi & Tuğçe, now based in the ‘center of electronic music’ Berlin, present their latest musical odyssey:  “A Twice Told Tale”. Filled with unmistakable charm and complexity, “A Twice Told Tale” conjures up stories that connect with something deep within the listener. Told with emotional intensity and intricacy, these are songs for and about everyone.

The first single from this EP, “Hikâye” tells a long tale, a tale that is “a little naïve, a little rebellious, and a little tender”. Life is fleeting, leaves will fall, colors will fade, and before we know it, it will be time to depart from this beautiful earth. Yet the tale we have lived to tell and the love we have lived for will remain. 

TRACK CREDITS:

Original Track: Santi & Tuğçe
Vocals and Lyrics: Tuğçe Kurtiş
Piano: Pier Luigi Salami
Cover Art: Gamze Yalçın

LYRICS:

Uzun bir hikâye
Biraz saf, biraz asi
Biraz da kırılgan
Anlatılan 

Bir ses bir iç çekiş
Usulca duyulan
Zaman ötesinde
Yankılanan

Kabus ortasında 
Uykudan uyanmış 
Bir çocuk misali 
Haykırılan

Bir gün biterse
Hikâye, üzülme
Hayat geçse de 
Aşktır kalan


ENGLISH TRANSLATION: 

It’s a long tale 
A little naïve, a little rebellious
And a little tender

A sound, a sigh 
Which is heard discreetly
Which echoes through time

A tale that gets wailed
Like a child
Who has just awoken 
In the midst of a nightmare

If, one day, this tale reaches an end
Do not be upset 
Even though life goes away 
It is love that remains

Santi & Tuğçe - Hikâye (Souq Records)

A TWICE TOLD TALE

One fine autumn day, Santi (from Asunción, Paraguay) and Tuğçe (from Istanbul, Turkey) have crossed paths in a small town in the middle of the “heartland” US. From this moment on, their lives have become webs of inquiry and revelation as they have jointly devoted forces to mastering the art of musical storytelling. Drawing on a wide palette of ideas and influences, Santi & Tuğçe have created an enchanting world with their music in which the characters are driven by passion and a zest for life. A world where mythical creatures return home after an epic quest to an island surrounded by land, where a wise woman prepares potions to heal the poet, the dreamer, and the disillusioned; where planets collide and create new patterns in the cosmic swirl; where two starry-eyed lovers sail away on a sea turtle spaceship to places unknown; and where self-aware, compassionate robots resolve ancient paradoxes in their mission to rescue humanity.

On this fine autumn day, thirteen years after their fortuitous encounter, Santi & Tuğçe, now based in the ‘center of electronic music’ Berlin, present their latest musical odyssey:  “A Twice Told Tale”. Filled with unmistakable charm and complexity, “A Twice Told Tale” conjures up stories that connect with something deep within the listener. Told with emotional intensity and intricacy, these are songs for and about everyone.

The first track, “Hikâye” (“Tale”) tells a long tale, a tale that is “a little naïve, a little rebellious, and a little tender”. Life is fleeting, leaves will fall, colors will fade, and before we know it, it will be time to depart from this beautiful earth. Yet the tale we have lived to tell and the love we have lived for will remain. 

The second track, “Kuyu” (“The Well”), offers a peak into the deep, invisible corners of the heart, full of yearning and eternal questions, to which no one knows the answers . After all, “who has seen and who has brought news from the dark shore across?” 

Track Title: Santi & Tuğçe - Kuyu
Release Date: 07.10.2020
Label: Souq Records

Track Credits:
Original Track: Santi & Tuğçe
Vocals and Lyrics: Tuğçe Kurtiş
Piano: Pier Luigi Salami
Cover Art: Gamze Yalçın

LYRICS:

Yüreğin bir kuyu, derin ve suskun
Aşk da acı da yüreğin kadar
Kağıt üzerinde uzanıp yatan
Hangi söze sığar bunca hayal

Bir an, geç kalmışçasına
Kanat çırpar kuşlar
Rüzgar dağılır da gider
Irmak hızla akar 

Bir gün gelir, bir gün geçer mi dersin?
İçindeki daimi sorular
Kim görmüş de kim getirmiş ki haber
Karşıdaki karanlık kıyıdan

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Your heart is a well, deep and quiet
Love and pain, just as your heart
How will all this longing fit into
Words that spread on a piece of paper?

One moment, as though they are late
The birds start flapping their wings
The wind scatters and takes off
The river flows in a hurry

Do you think one day they come, and one day they go,
Those eternal questions inside you?
Who has seen and who has brought news from
The dark shore across?

Santi & Tuğçe - Kuyu (Souq Records)

A TWICE TOLD TALE

One fine autumn day, Santi (from Asunción, Paraguay) and Tuğçe (from Istanbul, Turkey) have crossed paths in a small town in the middle of the “heartland” US. From this moment on, their lives have become webs of inquiry and revelation as they have jointly devoted forces to mastering the art of musical storytelling. Drawing on a wide palette of ideas and influences, Santi & Tuğçe have created an enchanting world with their music in which the characters are driven by passion and a zest for life. A world where mythical creatures return home after an epic quest to an island surrounded by land, where a wise woman prepares potions to heal the poet, the dreamer, and the disillusioned; where planets collide and create new patterns in the cosmic swirl; where two starry-eyed lovers sail away on a sea turtle spaceship to places unknown; and where self-aware, compassionate robots resolve ancient paradoxes in their mission to rescue humanity.

On this fine autumn day, thirteen years after their fortuitous encounter, Santi & Tuğçe, now based in the ‘center of electronic music’ Berlin, present their latest musical odyssey:  “A Twice Told Tale”. Filled with unmistakable charm and complexity, “A Twice Told Tale” conjures up stories that connect with something deep within the listener. Told with emotional intensity and intricacy, these are songs for and about everyone.

The first track, “Hikâye” (“Tale”) tells a long tale, a tale that is “a little naïve, a little rebellious, and a little tender”. Life is fleeting, leaves will fall, colors will fade, and before we know it, it will be time to depart from this beautiful earth. Yet the tale we have lived to tell and the love we have lived for will remain. 

The second track, “Kuyu” (“The Well”), offers a peak into the deep, invisible corners of the heart, full of yearning and eternal questions, to which no one knows the answers. After all, “who has seen and who has brought news from the dark shore across?” 

The third track, “Bulut” (“Cloud”), describes the perpetual cycle of change and metamorphosis in nature through the imagery of a playful cloud that rises from the seas to clear blue skies, and goes on a multicolored journey “perhaps towards the water, perhaps towards the earth, or perhaps towards a poem”. 

Track Title: Bulut
Release Date: 23.10.2020
Label: Souq Records

Track Credits:
Original Track: Santi & Tuğçe
Vocals and Lyrics: Tuğçe Kurtiş
Piano: Pier Luigi Salami
Cover Art: Gamze Yalçın

LYRICS (TURKISH):

BULUT

Masmavi, açık ve berrak
Bir gökyüzüne
Denizlerden yükselen 
Dalgadan doğan bulutuz

Ay ışığında parlayan
Bir dolu hasret
Belki su, belki toprak
Belki şiirdir yolumuz

Yağmur ertesi
Bir tohumun neşesi
Rengarenk bir serüven
Yaşam dediğimiz oyun

LYRICS (ENGLISH TRANSLATION):

CLOUD 

We are clouds, born of waves
Rising from the seas 
Toward clear blue skies

A pile of longing
That sparkles in moonlight
Our destination is perhaps the water, perhaps the earth,
Perhaps a poem

The joy of a seed
After the rain
A multicolored journey
This game, we call life

A Twice Told Tale

Bulut

Download / Stream

Santi & Tuğçe - Bulut (Souq Records)

Santi & Tuğçe - Hikâye Retold (Souq Records)

Bookings: santiandtugce@gmail.com

2020
01.02 Jai Thep Festival (TH)
02.02 Jai Thep Festival (TH)
15.02 Slow Club, Freiburg (DE)
22.02 Beate Uwe, Berlin (DE)
21.03 Partymag Live Stream, Istanbul (TR)
08.04 Let's Support Artists, Bonjuk Bay (TR) 
27.04 United We Stream, Bulbul Berlin (DE)
25.07 Katzensprung Open Air, Cologne (DE)
01.08 Knust Geburstag, Hamburg (DE)
08.09 Resonanz Traum, Berlin (DE)
12.09 Casa Lavanda, Istanbul (TR)

2019
20.01 Beate Uwe, Berlin (DE)
03.02 Lucid Dawning Theater im Delphi, Berlin (DE)
22.02 Centro Cultural Juan Salazar, Asuncion (PY)
28.02 Santuario Showcase, Santiago (CL)
01.03 Kompaz Party, Valparaiso (CL)
02.03 Peña Nomade, Santiago (CL)
03.03 Temple Bar, Buenos Aires (AR)
05.03 Selina Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires (AR)
07.03 Avant Garden, Buenos Aires (AR)
16.03 Eats & Beats Izmir Arena, Izmir (TR)
28.03 Zorlu PSM, Istanbul (TR)
12.04 Dis-placed Re-placed Festival, Radialsystem, Berlin (DE)
10.05 Schlachthof, Kassel (DE)
16.05 Bonjuk Burn, Marmaris (TR)
23.05 Feriye Palace, Istanbul (TR)
02.06 Beate Uwe Schiffsparty, Berlin (DE)
08.06 Astir Beach, Athens (GR)
22.06 Cosmo Radio Interview + Live Set, Berlin (DE)
22.06 Kaosberlin, Berlin (DE)
06.07 Club Marvy, Izmir (TR)
07.07 The Beach of Momo, Cesme (TR)
14.07 The Beach of Momo, Cesme (TR)
20.07 Kultursommer, Hannover (DE)
27.07 Kometa Festival, Riga (LV)
02.08 Kempinski Barbaros Bay, Bodrum (TR)
04.08 The Bodrum Edition, Bodrum (TR)
08.08 Parla Parla Bodrum (TR)
10.08 Barbelo, Bodrum (TR)
11.08 The Bodrum Edition, Bodrum (TR)
24.08 Elio Sedef, Istanbul (TR)
31.08 Iris Beirut, Beirut (LB)
08.09 Mentha Nova, Istanbul (TR)
05.10 Bulbul Berlin (DE)
10.10 Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul (TR)
11.10 Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum (TR)
18.10 House of Fuzuli, Istanbul (TR)
09.11 Beate Uwe, Berlin (DE)
29.11 Mensch Meier, Berlin (DE)
07.12 Loco de Pera, Istanbul (TR)
14.12 Loco de Pera, Istanbul (TR)

2018
12.01 Mérida Fest, Teatro Peón Contreras (MX)
12.01 Casa Chica, Mérida (MX)
13.01 Mérida Fest, Atrio de la Catedral (MX)
18.01 Xaman Tulum, Mexico (MX)
19.01 Radio Tulum, Mexico (MX)
19.01 Secret Location, Tulum (MX)
24.02 Kulturhaus Kili, Berlin (DE)
03.03 Greenhouse, Berlin (DE)
09.03 Beate Uwe, Berlin (DE)
23.03 Birgit & Bier, Berlin (DE)
30.03 TwentyOne Maslak, Istanbul (TR)
20.04 Mensch Meier, Berlin (DE)
21.05 Theatron Pfingsfestival, Munich (DE)
29.05 Klunkerkranich, Berlin (DE)
31.05 Bonjuk Burn Spiral, Marmaris (TR)
15.06 Burg Schnabel, Berlin (DE)
22.06 Ekodrom Festival, Vojnic (HR)
13.07 Cassiopeia, Berlin (DE) 
14.07 Mensch Meier, Berlin (DE)
21.07 Open Air Sydhavnen, Copenhagen (DK)
02.08 Garbicz Festival, Torzym (PL)
15.08 Naua Gathering, Mallorca (ES)
17.08 Bucht der Träumer Festival, Helenesee (DE)
01.09 Istanbul Cocktail Festival (TR)
08.09 Getting Ready for Into the Woods Festival, Izmir (TR)
14.09 La Halle Papin, Paris (FR)
15.09 Le Mellotron, Paris (FR)
22.09 Mensch Meier, Berlin (DE)
28.09 Bonjuk Bay Love Weekend, Marmaris (TR)
13.10 Design Hotels Arena, Copenhagen (DK)
28.10 Kolibri Sinfonie Klunkerkranich, Berlin (DE)
10.11 Vibronica Book of Tales, Kiev (UA)
16.11 Private Event, Antalya (TR)
24.11 So & So, Leipzig (DE)
30.11 Rummelsbucht, Berlin (DE)
02.12 Beate Uwe, Berlin (DE)
13.12 Wonderfruit Festival, Pattaya (TH)

Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Tuğçe Kurtiş grew up with a love for music. At age 6, she joined the school choir and started singing. Since then, she performed in countless occasions in Europe, Asia, North and South America. Tuğçe studied voice, jazz vocals, and West-African drumming with percussionist Milford Graves and singer & songwriter Sheila Jordan. Various listeners have remarked that her voice is "ethereal", "something ancient, calling from the primeval darkness of fairytale".  Tuğçe has collaborated with Paraguayan musician & producer Santi on numerous albums and EPs. She is the founder of the Kybele project which emphasizes broader inclusion of artists from around the world.