Born in a region situated to the north of Istanbul (between Bulgaria, Greece and the Black Sea), Burhan Öçal, the son of one of those rare old-time teachers of ancient Ottoman and Arabic, has become the musical link between communities in the Balkans and rural Turkey.

A mixture of pure virtuosity and smiling humanity, he became acquainted with percussion instruments at a very early age, thanks to his father, and with the traditional and religious songs of his native culture, thanks to his mother. He does what he likes with his instrument, a simple skin stretched over a metal barrel, which he seems able to transform at will into sounding like a whole collection of drums. He helps us discover the musical genius forged in the crucible of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, the Gypsy and Jewish genius from Thrace and from the Marches and depths of the Ottoman Empire.

Burhan Öçal is not only a virtuoso on traditional Turkish rhythmic instruments like the darbuka, kös, kudüm or bendir, but also on other percussion instruments as well as on the tanbur, oud and saz, which he accompanies with his expressive voice.

He has recorded many CDs such as "Gypsy Rum" and "Sultan’s Secret Door" with his Istanbul Eastern Ensemble, which earned him the Critics’ Prize in Germany. He was also awarded the "Choc" Prize in 1996 for "Ottoman Garden". His main concern is to build bridges between cultures: he often combines classical Turkish music with classical western music, or traditional Turkish music with jazz.