Yasemin Mori

Yasemin Mori — Biography

Born Yasemin Aygün Savgı on 4 March 1982 in Istanbul, she moved between Turkish Northern Cyprus, Diyarbakır, Ankara and Edirne as a child, following her architect father's military postings. She took the stage name Mori from a term of endearment her relatives used for girls, from a schoolgirl fondness for Jim Morrison, and later from the phrase Memento Mori. She wrote her first songs in middle school with her older sister's help, and drew notice in 2005 by leaping on stage to dance at a Kings of Convenience concert in Istanbul. She graduated from Bilkent University's Graphic Design department in 2004 and shared her work for a time on MySpace and Tumblr. She released her debut album, Hayvanlar, entirely self-written, in 2008; Deli Bando, made with Korhan Futacı ve Kara Orkestra and the Boğaziçi Jazz Choir, followed in 2012, and Finnari Kakaraska, featuring her interpretation of Ajda Pekkan's Gel and a Nazım Hikmet poem, came out in 2015. She released the album Estrella in 2018, followed by Geçiriverdim İçimi and, with Eypio, Estirelim Mi; the singles Maviye (2021) and Kırmızı Lavlar (2022) followed. Her alternative-rock sound, marked by idiosyncratic lyrics and strong storytelling, has been ranked among the best Turkish-language albums of the 2000s by critics. She has also been credited on the productions Ya Sonra (2011) and Halka (2019). She married Emre Irmak in May 2024.