Arif Susam is a new wave/synthpop artist. His style combines traditional Turkish

Music of Turkey

The music of Turkey includes diverse elements ranging from Central Asian folk music and has many copies and references of Byzantine music, Greek music, Ottoman music, Persian music, Balkan music, as well as more modern European and American popular music influences...

 tunes with synthesized instruments. He was very popular in the 80s with fellow artists like Nejat Alp

Nejat Alp

Nejat Alp is a Turkish musician who plays synth-driven Turkish ambient folk. He began his professional career in 1969 by playing bass for various supporting bands in the clubs of Istanbul...

, Ümit Besen

Ümit Besen

Ümit Besen represents the darker side of Tarabya school of electronic music. He started his professional career with playing keyboards and singing with his band at the local clubs in Adana, Southern Turkey...

, Cengiz Kurtoğlu

Cengiz Kurtoglu

Cengiz Kurtoğlu is a unique Turkish music artist. He was born in 1959 in Artvin, Turkey. He worked as a civil servant at a tea factory in Artvin and migrated to Istanbul in 1982....

 and Atilla Kaya.

Career

His statement "Pain and suffering in various tempos" describes the career of Arif Susam spanning over more than 25 years.

He started playing keyboards and singing in local clubs and restaurants. At the same period he recorded a demo

Demo (music)

A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

 and sent it to Şahin Plakçılık record label which turned up an eight figure record deal.

In 1982 he began performing live every night at Köşem Restaurant in Tarabya

Tarabya

Tarabya is a neighbourhood in Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on the European shores of the Bosphorus, between the neighbourhoods of Yeniköy and Kireçburnu....

, İstanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

. The Köşem Restaurant sessions went on for 14 years without a break. Susam is known for being the only artist to go platinum in Turkey, as his double

Double album

A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....

 live

Live album

A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...

 1985 album Tavernada Yıldönümü sold over 1.200.000 copies.

His live tavern performances usually took place in the Bosphorus shore district of Tarabya. Not being as much popular as he was in the 1980s, he still performs live with his Korg i3

Korg i3

The Korg i3 is a keyboard instrument introduced by Korg in 1993. Known as an "Interactive Music Workstation", the i3 broke new ground for Korg, and defined a new type of instrument - the professional auto-accompaniment workstation...

 keyboard at a restaurant in Yenikapı

Yenikapi

Yenikapı is a port and a neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey, in the metropolitan district of Fatih on the European side of the Bosphorus and along the southern shore of the city's historically central peninsula....

 district.

Personal life

In 1980, Arif Susam got married and had two sons. He is known for being a fanatic supporter of Galatasaray S.K.

Galatasaray S.K.

Galatasaray Spor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club based in Istanbul, most notable for its football section, also known as Galatasaray S.K.. It also fields teams in Athletics, Basketball, Wheelchair basketball, Volleyball, Water polo, Swimming, Rowing, Sailing, Judo, Bridge, Equestrian, Handball,...

 and makes a cameo appearance in the championship album Şampiyonluk Gecemiz. He is also a very close friend to Cengiz Kurtoğlu since 1980.

Quotes

His most famous quote is "Mutlu bir gecenin başlangıcında, tüm çiftleri dansa davet ediyorum." which literally means "In the beginning of a happy night, I invite all couples to dance."

Albums

• Efsane Aşk (1984)
• Kara Kara (1984)
• Tavernada Yıldönümü (1985)
• Kararsız Gönlüm (1987, Repressed in 2002)
• Şampiyonluk Gecemiz (1987, For Galatasaray
  Galatasaray
  Galatasaray Spor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club based in Istanbul, most notable for its football section, also known as Galatasaray S.K.. It also fields teams in Athletics, Basketball, Wheelchair basketball, Volleyball, Water polo, Swimming, Rowing, Sailing, Judo, Bridge, Equestrian, Handball,...
  
  's championships after 14 years)
• O Kadın İçin (1988, Repressed in 2002)
• Kader Utansın (1988)
• Hasreti Kutluyorum (1989, Repressed in 2002)
• Evliler De Sevebilir (1990)
• Beni Düşün (1991)
• Sevenler İçin (1992)
• Boncuk Gözlüm (1993)
• Unutulmuyor (1994)
• İşte Yeniden (1996)
• Sakın Unutma (1998)
• Aşkımız Bitmesin (1999)
• Ölümsüz Sevdim (2011)

Web Site

• Official website