Apaşlar guitarist Yalçınkaya Tümay has passed away

Yalçınkaya Tümay, who founded the band Apaşlar together with musician Mehmet Soyarslan, has passed away at the age of 81. Tümay, who worked with names such as Erkin Koray and Cem Karaca, will be laid to rest at the Zincirlikuyu Family Cemetery tomorrow following a funeral prayer to be held at the Erenköy Galip Paşa Mosque after the noon prayer.

"ERKIN KORAY CALLED HIM 'PASHA YALÇIN'"

Yalçınkaya Tümay’s daughter, Aydan Ağaoğlu, stated in an interview with DHA, “He always had a positive energy throughout his life. He loved people, nature, and animals very much. He was deeply attached to music. He was also a very successful athlete and tennis player. He was a symbolic figure of Kadıköy. Erkin Koray used to call him ‘Pasha Yalçın.’ He never disconnected from music throughout his life. He wrote the song Ayşen, known as Ayşem, for my mother.”

"HE CONTINUED TO COMPOSE"

Musician Mehmet Soyarslan, one of the founders of the Apaşlar band, said, “We spoke a month ago; he was constantly composing and would send me his compositions over the phone. We were in constant communication. We have many memories. He was a person who loved music very much. He loved Erkin Koray dearly. He was a loving person who brought people together,” he said.

"WE WENT TO THE STUDIO TOGETHER"

Stating that they worked with both Cem Karaca and Erkin Koray, Soyarslan continued as follows:

“The Apaşlar band was founded in 1960. Our bassist, Ahmet Tuzcuoğlu, brought Cem Karaca to our group. Cem had a tremendous voice; it was a very good thing for us. We received the award for the 2nd best group at the Hürriyet Golden Microphone Song Contest. Afterwards, our tours were followed closely. We went on tour in Germany. We made a deal with a Turkish record label in Cologne and recorded all the well-known songs there. We recorded famous songs such as Resimdeki Gözyaşları, Bu Son Olsun, Ayrılık Günümüz, Yalçın’s composition Ayşem, İstanbul’u Dinliyorum, and Oy Babo there. A large orchestra accompanied us there. It was a recording system that did not exist in Turkey at that time. We arranged many of the tracks together.”

News Source: 12punto