Her songs carry the spirit of Anatolia within them. Derya Yildirim wants to honour her family's cultural heritage, but she doesn't want to “play the same old record“, as she puts it. Instead, she aims to create something new, around it which is why Derya Yildirim and Grup Şimşek give their music a psychedelic vibe and combine Turkish folk songs with soul and pop. Born in Hamburg, she learned to play the seven-string Turkish lute bağlama at an early age. This instrument holds special significance for the Alevi minority in eastern Anatolia. Although she soon added the piano, oud, guitar and saxophone to her repertoire, the bağlama remains Derya's compass to this day: “There's just something magical about it. It tells my story and carries my voice.” In summer she will share all that with us in Rudolstadt!