Özlem Özdil was born in 1979 in Hannover, Germany. Her first teacher was her father, Dursun Özdil. Blending the tradition she received from the past with the realities and values of the present, she passes this deeply rooted tradition on to generations to come. Özdil is aware of the great responsibility and discipline that comes with the duty of being a bridge between times. This responsibility is felt by all artists, the oral representatives of this culture. This viewpoint requires contınual renewal on the part of the artist. Since coming to Turkey for a quality musical education Özdil has, despite her young age, succeeded in renewing herself. Her long-time producer as well as teacher Sinan Çelik has no doubt had a great hand in the creation of this awareness. His artistry, attitude toward his art and sense of responsibility and discipline has guided Özdil. At the same time, she has been influenced by her joint projects with the outstanding artists Musa Eroğlu, Güler Duman, Çetin Akdeniz and Güray Hafiftaş. Two aspects especially stand out in Özlem Özdil's music: her voice and interpretation, which transform all her songs into crystal clear expressions of sadness, joy and love; and her skill as a performer on the bağlama. After making the acquaintance of the young minstrel Hasret Gültekin after a concert of his in Germany, Özdil was influenced by Gültekin's şelpe technique and concentrated her efforts in this area. Today Özdil has made major contributions to that technique, but despite that, she herself considers her expertise to be more in the area of regional styles. Her teachers say she's on the way to becoming a young master; it must be true because she's been giving concerts in the foremost halls of Istanbul and Europe for years. Her hours spent in practice, and her constant efforts to discover something new in every recording, in every sound of the masters she listens to; as if to say “my journey with the bağlama has never ended and never will end,” are indications of her determination and sincerity. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.