Name: Meral Polat
Nationality: Kurdish-Dutch
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, actress
Current Release: Meral Polat's new album Meydan is out via W.E.R.F.
Recommendations for Amsterdam, the Netherlands: In the summer, go see a theatre piece or a concert in the great de Bostheater, an open air amphitheater in a vast urban park south of Amsterdam. Bring a picnic basket and good wine. And visit the Tolhuistuin on 28 September, that's our release show night. This evening only the guest artists from the album Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti, Mola Sylla and Frank Rosaly will come on stage with us to play the songs we created together. And in de foyer before or after the concert you can discover 2 artworks of artists Beri Dalgali and Cigdem Yuksel (long story about them and our connection in sister ship and artistry, for another time :)
Topic I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about: Please take care of nature, be aware of the birds in your city, feed them in winter, leave some water out in summer. Please boycott this bio industry, the way we torture living beings and let animals suffer so so much just to have meat on our plates everyday is really insanity. We kill Wales for sport, it's insanity, we prick knives in bulls for fun, it's insanity.

If you enjoyed this Meral Polat interview and would like to know more about her music and upcoming live dates, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, and facebook, and bandcamp. 

When it comes to experiencing the sensation of “energy” as as a listener, which albums, performances, and artists come to mind?

Nina Simone, Selda Bagcan, James Brown, Dengbej Sakiro, Rosalia come to my mind. There are so so many, but just the first 5 on top of my head.

Many come from different worlds, genres and eras, but it is the energy inside, behind it, that flickers in everything they do. It is very powerful and authentic, it is honest and sensationally bold.

There can be many different kinds of energy in art – soft, harsh, healing, aggressive, uplifting and many more. Which do you tend to feel drawn to most?

I need to bump, meet, mirror all of the energies, all human emotion interests me deeply.

As a woman I feel we need to explore and allow rage more and more, it is an energy the world fears, but it is such an amazing life-force when transformed. And holding in that rage and anger- because this is what has been thought to us right, to be the nice girl- it's not healthy. You have to feel your rage, own it and transform this. Rage can be very soft also, harsh, raw. Healing sometimes start with a smack on your fase.

But at the same time I also feel I have a harnas around me. Being a female artist of color in the diaspora often can force me to be strong and not show vulnerability or tenderness, but also doesn’t allow me to stand up in my entire range of power. It is interesting what the outside world can expect of you.

This is why creating our own work as a collective, entirely free in how we want to do it, is a tremendous space for freedom for me. Art has always been my refuge, my freedom. In Meydan we go from the softest whisper to hardcore force, I love the range, love to explore that, eat it, swallow and digest and spit it out.

I do want to show my soft side, my vulnerable side more, but many times I don’t feel safe enough to let my guard down. Only with my loved ones and in my work.

I have had a hard time explaining that listening to death metal calms me down. When you listen to a song with a particular energy, does it tend to fill you with the same energy – or are there “paradoxical” effects?

What a great question to think about. And I understand your calmness with heavy metal. I think my last concert was System of a Down at the Ziggo dome in Amsterdam. Also watching the mosh pit's slowmotion is so soothing. :)

I think it goes both ways. When I listen to  Arvo Pärt's “Spiegel im spiegel”, it calmes my nervous system. But ‘’Killing in the Name’’ by Rage against the machine has the same effect :)

Also when I listen to Davul and Zurna. Davul= a large dubbel headed drum and Zurna is a loud, double-reed woodwind instrument. When I hear them together, something inside my gut happens I cannot explain it.

I was brought up with these sounds, when folks dance (Govend, Haley) at celebrations etc. It's like some ancient DNA in my cells get activated when I hear this. And when there is also space to dance Govend on it, it is truly like it washes trouble away, makes you connected and grounded again. This is at least how it feels for me.



Govend of Halay is a traditional group dance, performed in a circle, with dances holding hands or linking arms, dancing on the same repetitive motion, heart beats, steps, breathe becomes one together.

This music, sound and movement is thousands and thousands of years old, the movement didn’t change, 7 generations before me and I hope 7 generations after me will remember and connect and let it live.

P.S.: For Kurds Govend is also memory, resistance.

In as far as it plays a role for the music you like listening to or making, what role do words and the voice of a vocalist play for the transmission of energy?

Words, Voice, Instruments, Silence, Movement all become part, materials where the energy momentarily can become a form to communicate in.

There is no filter in between the voice and the soul. It is naked from the heart to the sound waves. It is the strongest energy force I have and at the same time the most vulnerable, there is no hiding behind a role, behind a character, behind a narrative.

You open your mouth and breathe.

When it comes to experiencing the sensation of “energy” as as a creator, how would you describe the physical sensation of experiencing this energy? [Where do you feel it, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or a build-up of tension etc …]

Everything is energy. Energy never disappears, it only transforms.

You have an Alevi saying which I heard for the first time when I lost my Father suddenly. My father was my home, my water, my mountain. After 5 years the mourning for losing him, missing him is still something I feel every day. Somebody said to me after the funeral: “olen tendir, canlar olmez.’’ It means something like ‘’bodies die, but souls are immortal.” So the bond and love and relationship between us lives, goes on, transforms.

When I'm on stage and I am singing my songs, I'm singing his words, he is there, always, I see him and he moves with me. They also say that grief is love that has no place to go. They go in the music, in the poetry, in the moment we share together during the offering of song.

Performing is connection and exchange of energy, creating community together. The intent is sharing experiences, emotions, and intentions and support. I'm more interested in these exchanges almost like a ceremony than to rather just showcase the music or show what we can do.

When it comes to composing / songwriting, are you finding that spontaneity and just a few takes tend to capture energy best? Or does honing a piece bring you closer to that goal?  

This depends, I guess, it is never one thing more than the other. We have no one method.

Some songs come to live purely by improvisation and intuition, other songs are like Frankensteins, you have to refine them over and over again, break them down, flip them around and reorder them until it works.

This album was the first time for me to be a part of the producing process after the recording. I learned so much sitting next to Chris in this producing phase, having even more admiration for his amazing talent.

How much of the energy of your own music, would you say, is already part of the composition, how much of it is the result of the recording process?

When the seed is there, it is part of the composition. This can be only 2 chords, a rhythmic procession, a picture, image or just a sentence. Sometimes nothing from the first composition is heard back after the recording. But underneath, in the construct, in the walls, it is there, it is built on this.

It also happened that we created a song for something. But then this becomes the drama or backbone for an entirely different composition. It is great to experience this, to learn from it.

I feel such a lucky bastard to explore this field with Paul Koek, Chris Doyle, Frank Rosaly, Jens Bouttery by making music together.

For Meydan, what kind of energy were you looking for?

An energy that effortlessly moves across genres and styles, embracing the unapologetically sacred feminine while reclaiming power in an authentic and activist way. The energy of celebrating and cherishing our shared humanity and shedding societal expectations. The vibe can be sultry, sensual and passionate, magnetic, emotional yet ceremonial.

As you can see, there are a lot of things I'm looking for :) But at the same time, I'm looking forward to just jumping of the cliff and enjoying the ride towards everything that happens in that moment together

How do you capture the energy you want in the studio?

I made some drawings of the songs, that I hang on the walls. Also some materials like stones, books, scent stuff, pictures I place in front of me, like a small altar. Also I try to make sure we have a bit of good food to eat - proper food and sharing a meal helps.

But besides that, with this group of humans, it just goes organically and effortless. I think we are all focussed and connected together, I feel blessed to feel this. And now also with our band, we have welcomed the 4th band member for the live shows, Lisa, and she is also such a beautiful human and amazing artist, it's wonderful.

What role do factors like volume, effects like distortion, amplification, and production in general for in terms of creating the energy you want?

Yes, yes, lovely, those are great roles and factors that affect the music.

I jump with joy for the work of Chris Doyle on those effects etc and also how Pieter Jan Coppejans, the mixer of the album, brought everything to the next level with his vision is delighting.

Would you say that you prefer to stay in control to be able to shape the energy or do you surrender to it and allow the music to take over?

For me, its not about control. It's about creating something together, in the moment, with the audience and my band. I love the unpredictable. When something unexpected happens and we have to respond right then and there, that's when it becomes alive. It’s like life itself,happening while you are  busy making other plans.

Every concert is different. I don’t like doing the same thing every night. I love surprising my band members, and I love when they surprise me. It keeps us present, with open ears, eyes, and hearts. There’s no right or wrong,just being honest in the moment. That’s when the subconscious has space to speak, before the mind takes over.

I first learned that in theatre school, where we used to improvise for hours. Giving your body and mind the freedom to play intuitively for that long is incredibly powerful! When you know your material so well that you no longer have to think about it, that’s when you can truly let go. That's freedom. But if you do not know it well enough, fear takes over, and it becomes harder to release control.

Our music lives in that balance I think, between improvisation and precision. When needed, we guide the energy. But only after we have given it space to move freely.

The energy that music is able to generate can be extremely powerful. How, do you think, can artists make use of this energy to bring about change in the world?

Great question. I have to think about this some more.

The first thing on my mind is: what is outside is a reflection of what is inside. So if you want to bring about change with your work on the outside, I think it's important to also check on your inside, what are your beliefs, what are your patterns, we all are in need of decolonizing our thoughts, the educational systems, the capitalist social systems, the patriarchal ways of being.

And also, I think it's good to try to walk the talk. What's the point in shouting peace and love, but in the meantime you treat people poorly … it is in every one of us. It reminds me of my parents; I didn’t listen to what they said. I listened to what they did, their behaviors, their way of being. Perhaps this is like that.