'Holy metal': Istanbul cymbals star in Oscar-tipped film

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL

Two Turkish hand-hammered vintage cymbal companies have made their way to Hollywood by featuring in a movie nominated for five Academy Awards.

The 2014 drama "Whiplash" tells of the relationship between a young student jazz drummer and his fearsome teacher.

Turkish brands Istanbul Agop and Bosphorus Cymbals feature throughout the movie as the protagonist, an ambitious drummer, bleeds while playing furiously.

"When anyone thinks about jazz cymbals, they immediately think about Turkish cymbals," says Ibrahim Yakici, 43, one of the founders of Istanbul-based Bosphorus Cymbals. The firm has around 20 skilled smiths who work to produce around 30 cymbals a day by molding, rolling and hammering molten metal into precision-made golden-colored discs.

Istanbul is home to more than 10 cymbal-making companies but most them make contract manufacturing, says Yakici whose company has a product range of more than 500 different cymbals whose prices range between $90 and $550.

British drummer Robert Brian, who played with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Simple Minds and Peter Gabriel in his 30-year career, has endorsed Bosphorus Cymbals for the last decade.

He says it is well-known that "the first and best cymbal makers originated from Turkey."

"The Zildjian family, who are the most famous name in cymbals, have always had a tie in with Turkey, even though for many years they have been made in America," he says.

According to Brian, Bosphorus believe in the real "artistry" of making good-quality handcrafted cymbals.

"They do not wish to compete with market leaders Zildjian and Sabian," he says.

"Bosphorus are not interested in that kind of mass production; they want to create quality instruments that remain true to the Turkish cymbal making code," he adds.

Bosphorus’ founder Yakici, along with his co-founders Hasan Seker and Hasan Ozdemir, worked as apprentice cymbal-makers in Istanbul’s working-class Bagcilar district during the 1980s.

"I was around 11 when I started to make cymbals," Yakici says.

Today Yakici and his friends sell their products to more than 40 countries around the world.

When asked what differentiates their products from the others, Yakici says: "We learned a secret way of making cymbals."

Yakici says that their cymbals are made of copper, tin and another secret mixture that they don't want to reveal.

"We are still producing hand-made products by using an almost 800-years-old tradition," he adds.

Being a master of cymbal making needs not only time but talent, says Bosphorus’ international sales director, Emrah Sipahi.

"Sometimes drummers come here and just describe the sound that they want; a master should be able to design what kind of physical process the cymbal needs to get that sound," he says.

Yakici and his colleagues were actually working for what today is called Istanbul Agop Cymbals, founded by Istanbul-Armenian Agop Tomurcuk who began working as an apprentice cymbal-smith at the age of nine.

Today Agop’s son Arman is the co-president of Istanbul Agop Cymbals that employs 30 cymbal makers and produces 250-300 pieces each day.

The company has more than 700 items in its product range and prices range from $15 to $200.

According to Tomurcuk each Istanbul Agop Cymbal has its own distinctive character and tonal quality, which makes it different from others.

"This … comes from our secret alloy and hand-making skills of our craftsmen using centuries-old techniques," he adds: "Each cymbal is hammered by hand into its proper shape and form."

The different sound and character of each cymbal comes from the number of hammer beats.

"This makes every cymbal very special and personal," Tomurcuk says.

"The sound of the cymbals you love will be your own sound and no one else can have the same sound," he adds.

Istanbul Agop exports their products to around 45 countries and some of their customers include drummers for international acts such as Lenny Kravitz, Kylie Minogue, Noel Gallagher and Tori Amos.

Drummers have their own reason to like Turkish cymbals.

A French musician and drummer, Simon Goubert, tells The Anadolu Agency that he was dreaming with pictures of his jazz drummer heroes when he was just 11.

"All of them were playing Zildjian," says Goubert, referring to another worldwide brand that was born in Istanbul during the Ottoman era and moved to the U.S. just after the First World War.

"I love the all sounds they can have -- harmonics, deep sound, power, fundamental notes," he says.

As Goubert says "Cymbals are the most intimate part of drums."

"It is the reason why I can play on a different drum sets, but it is impossible to play with different cymbals," he adds.

"For every concert, I need my 17 kg of holy metal."