Şivan Perwer

Şivan Perwer — Biography

Born İsmail Aygün on 23 December 1955 near Viranşehir in Şanlıurfa province, Şivan Perwer is a Kurdish singer, composer, poet and writer. Regarded as a modern representative of the dengbêj oral tradition, he built his repertoire around themes of Kurdish identity, language, history and folklore; his early works, including Govenda Azadîxwazan and Kîne Em?, reflect the social experience of the Kurdish people.

Facing bans and restrictions on Kurdish-language music, Perwer left Turkey in 1976 and spent the following decades largely based in Germany. After 37 years in exile, he returned to Diyarbakır on 16 November 2013 at the invitation of then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Over his career he has received several honorary doctorates in music, and his work continues to blend traditional Kurdish musical forms with contemporary styles.