Kâzım Koyuncu

Kazım Koyuncu (November 7, 1971 in Hopa, Artvin Province, Turkey – June 25, 2005 in Istanbul, Turkey) was a Laz folk-rock singer, song writer, and activist.

An ethnic Laz, Koyuncu recorded songs in a number of languages spoken along the northeastern Black Sea coast of Turkey, as well as the language of Laz. He was the founder and singer of Zuğaşi Berepe ("The Children of the Sea" in Laz), a folk rock group founded in 1993. Following the group's break-up in 2000, Koyuncu went on to record two solo albums, Viya! in 2001 and Hayde in 2004, which proved to be extremely popular across Turkey and also in Georgia.

He died during treatment for lung cancer in 2005.

Besides Turkish, he is most famous for having sung in Lazuri, but his albums also contain several songs in Armenian, Homshetsi, Georgian and Megrelian. He also fought for nature and was against the construction of a nuclear reactor at Sinop on the northern Black Sea coast of Turkey. He was a well-known activist in environmental and cultural issues, and other things that were at risk and needed awareness and protection in Turkey.

Discography

with Zuğaşi Berepe

1995 Va Mişkunan ("We Don't Know" in Laz)
1998 İgzas ("You Are Leaving" in Laz)
1998 Brüksel Live

with Grup Dinmeyen

1996 Sisler Bulvarı

solo albums

2001 Viya
2004 Hayde
2006 Dünyada Bir Yerdeyim (posthumously released)

External links

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