TURKISH LIFE NEWS REPORTS

Young Pals Music’s 5^th Year Anniversary

NEW YORK – Independent record label Young Pals Music founded by Ayhan Sahin celebrated its five years in the business at a special event joined by artists, musicians, managers the company worked with through the years. Turkish Life News (TLN) crew was also there to witness the celebration.

From Civil Engineering to Music Producing

Ayhan Sahin who graduated as a civil engineer from Middle East Technical University founded the theatre group Young Pals during the years he used to work as an engineer. He staged the musicals he wrote back then—his first one “Gods” regarded as Turkey’s first rock opera, and his second show “Swedish Style” which was presented to Swedish music group ABBA with the support of the  Swedish Embassy in Turkey. After that occasion, Sahin’s career evolved into the international platform. In 1999, his music was arranged and performed by the members of the Presidential Symphonic Orchestra in Istanbul. Following that year, Sahin landed in New York to start his music education at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. After completing his master’s degree at NYU, he founded his recording studio and started his professional musical career. For a couple of years, he worked as a freelancer. He, then, joined Breaking Records as the A&R VP and the house-in-producer to work with famous artists like Sezen Aksu and Sandra Bernhard. In 2007, he founded his own label Young Pals Music. Within the five year period, he worked with more than 30 different artists/musicians to prepare 15 albums which were released by 10 artists in English, Spanish, French and Turkish languages.

Sahin’s manager, Janet Castiel who also attended the 5^th Year Young Pals Music event also manages Turkish superstars Fahir Atakoglu, Sezen Aksu, Sertab Erener and Demir Demirkan in the U.S. territory. She quoted that she and Sahin have been working on various different projects since 2009 and said that she has great respect and appreciation for his work: “He is a great talent with integrity, intelligence and experience in the market.”

“I Feel Very Indulged”

Sahin, who was interviewed during the 5^th year party told Turkish Life News journalist that New York has been a dominant inspiration for his work. “There is tremendous amount of talent in this city. Being able to work with a sea of cultural richness, I feel very indulged when it comes to picking up talent. New York is the center for talent. Most of the creative people were not born here but somewhere else, in a different part of the world. Once they realize they can’t achieve further within their boundaries, they decide to move to New York. And that is pretty much my own story.”

When TLN asked what the difference is between Young Pals and any other record label, he replied: “Young Pals still function with an amateurish enthusiastic soul which works like a school for many artists. And in many cases, as a bridge to career evolution.. For instance, think about Karine Hannah with whom we did three albums, she is now signed to Universal Records for her big major debut.”

“My idols Arif Mardin and Ahmet Ertegun”

Sahin who enjoys exploring diversities within the artists he works with, says: “If I see star sparkles within a musician/vocalist, I approach and invite him/her to work for a full length solo project with me and we go into the studio with more specific focused material that is tailored for the image that we create for them under Young Pals.

When we asked what his long term goals are within the next 5 years, Sahin said: “I am hoping that many of the artists I work with will be critically acclaimed. For me, personally, I regard myself as a follower to the two great Turks who conquered the New York music scene as well as the global industry; Arif Mardin and Ahmet Ertegun.

“My Eyes Are Teared Up”

Lastly, we asked him “Do you regard yourself successful?” He said: “12 years ago, I came to New York with only a luggage, leaving behind my profession, work, family and friends, with dreams of creating music for the rest of my life. Now looking at this room, I feel successful when I see more than 40 musicians/allies filling this space to celebrate our 5 years. Makes my eyes teared up..”