Selahattin Özdemir

Selahattin Özdemir — Biography

Selahattin Özdemir was born in Adana in 1963; by his own account he first fell under the spell of arabesque music through the records of Orhan Gencebay that his older brother played during their youth, an influence that eventually pulled him from listener to performer. He released his debut record in 1982 and spent the following decades as both a lyricist and a composer, becoming one of arabesque's recognizable names; an English-language arabesque project he floated in the 2000s, however, failed to draw much attention.

Özdemir later expressed regret over four early songs about heartbreak and separation — "Yanlış Yerde Doğmuşum," "Yaşamam Artık," "Esrar Perdesi" and "Hem Yaratıyorsun Hem Unutuyorsun" — and petitioned Adana's state security court to have them pulled from cassette releases and radio play, saying he had recorded them in the impulsiveness of youth. A 2025 retrospective described his career as a journey "from rebellious songs to spiritual peace." He was running a business in Mersin when he died there of a heart attack on 27 August 2019, at the age of 56.