Generation Z listens to arabesque music

Melike Çalkap - ISTANBUL

The number of people listening to arabesque music has increased in Türkiye in 2022 while generation Z are the main listeners of this genre, according to the data from Spotify, a digital music streaming platform.

The statistics regarding Türkiye’s listening habits in 2022, shared by Spotify, showed that the rate of listening to arabesque genre increased by 287 percent in January-August this year, compared to the same period of 2019.

Young people between the ages of 18-24 tend to “find and define themselves” in the lyrics of arabesque songs as they are not competent in self-knowledge, Seher Balcı Çelik, a professor from Ondokuz Mayıs University, said.

She also added that the pressure exerted by generation X, who are the parents of this generation, can influence the young people’s keenness on arabesque music, adding that youth suffer from their families’ oppression on their academic life.

Pointing out that the youth sustained their social and academic lives remotely for two years due to the pandemic, Çelik stated that this way of life may result in having difficulty in gaining friends.

“Meanwhile, they were alone with the artificial world in a virtual environment. For this reason, they may have turned to arabesque music that they find close, sincere or intimate,” she explained.

“Arabesque interprets their feelings and thoughts,” Çelik added.

While the most listened arabesque singer of all time is Müslüm Gürses, an icon of Turkish arabesque music, with the song “Nilüfer,” the other musicians in the top five in the list are Ebru Gündeş, Funda Arar, Bergen and Yıldız Tilbe.

Explaining the reason of their interest in this genre, students say, “Arabesque songs composed in the past make you feel the intimacy and sincerity of the communication between people in those years.”

They also state that cinema and TV productions of popular culture using arabesque songs affect the young generation’s interest.

Arabesque songs became prominent on some platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, used actively by young people, a law student pointed out.

“We started to pay more attention to the lyrics than the melody. If we look at the new alternative music genres, we see that the melody is in the foreground, but there are independent lyrics,” she said.

“We do not listen to this anymore. Being able to express what we experienced through the music is more valuable,” she added.

Another arabesque listener from the young generation also said “arabesque music has relaxing and mentally healing impacts on him.”

Arabesque music influenced by Middle Eastern melodies, especially Arab music culture, is a music genre created in Türkiye.

The teams of arabesque songs generally consist of agony, yearning, unrequited love and grief.