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Cem Köksal
Photo: Maneki Neko, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons15

Cem Köksal

Turkish guitarist and entrepreneur (born 1976)

Reşit Cem Köksal (born 3 July 1976) is a Turkish guitarist, composer and entrepreneur. His music includes neoclassical metal, and he has recorded and toured with singer Joe Lynn Turner.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Cem Köksal (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jul 3, 1976.1

About

He was the founding chairman of the Gezi Party and is a co-founder of the electric guitar manufacturer Shark Guitars.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cem Köksal, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

Köksal was born in Istanbul on 3 July 1976. He began playing the mandolin in primary school and took up the guitar in 1987. While attending the German High School in Istanbul, he participated in school music activities and studied music theory with Derya Yener in 1991 and 1992.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cem Köksal (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: musician.6 7

  • 2013 to 2015Chair, Gezi Party5
  • Date not recordedFounded Shark Guitars3
  • Date not recordedFounded Gezi Party4

Solo albums and tours with Joe Lynn Turner

Köksal established his own recording studio, Studio 29, in 2002 and completed the recording of his debut album, Set Me Free!!, in 2003. Sources give its release year as either 2003 or 2004. The album was released by Universal Müzik and featured vocals by Murat İlkan of Pentagram.

Köksal wrote the album's music and lyrics apart from one song, and recorded, mixed and produced it in his own studio. Aykan İlkan played drums on the recording. A Turkish edition was subsequently released as Just Set Me Free!!, with different cover artwork and additional Turkish-language songs.

Köksal performed on the Coca-Cola Soundwave tour in 2005. In May 2006, he toured Turkey with Joe Lynn Turner, the former singer of Rainbow and Deep Purple, as part of the Coca-Cola Soundwave tour. The band also included Çağatay Ateş on bass, Alpay Şalt on drums and Koray Alarslan on keyboards. In an interview with Burçin Aybars, Köksal said he had approached Turner by sending him his album and videos from the 2005 Soundwave tour. In a May 2007 interview, Turner described touring Turkey with Köksal as a "life changing experience" and said that it had influenced "Blood Red Sky", a song on his album Second Hand Life.

Their performances were released as Live!! in 2007. The concert DVD was recorded in Bursa. In 2007, Köksal also released the Turkish-language album Siyah Beyaz Masallar, featuring vocals by Şenay Lambaoğlu.

Köksal and Turner were billed to perform ahead of Joe Satriani at Küçükçiftlik Park in Istanbul on 18 May 2013.

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Vigilante and Gitarizma

In 2011, Köksal released Vigilante Episode One, a five-track EP. The project was conceived as a concept album to be released in three five-song EPs. The first instalment contains three English-language songs sung by Mats Levén and two Turkish-language songs sung by Mehmet Kaya, and features a duet between Kaya and Zeynep Casalini.

In 2012, he performed with Gitarizma alongside Gür Akad, Alpay Şalt, Çağatay Ateş and Mert Topel. The project featured different guest guitarists at its concerts. Gitarizma opened for Megadeth in Istanbul on 19 June 2012, with Cenk Eroğlu and his son Kemal Efe Eroğlu also appearing in the performance.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cem Köksal (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • CitizenshipTurkey8

Sources

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