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Fahir Atakoglu is a renowned Turkish pianist and composer who has worked with a wide range of artists across many genres of music, ranging in style from symphonic scoring to advertising jingles. He was born in Istanbul, Turkey.
Early life
From the age of 7, Atakoğlu was interested in music and began playing
piano and drums. Though his family intended for him to continue in the
family business, his mother fostered his interest in music and through
his music teacher Muzaffer Uz he was introduced to Cemal Reşit Rey,
Turkey’s famous composer, pianist, script writer, and conductor.
Atakoğlu studied under Rey from 1977-1979. He attended the Istanbul
State Conservatory from 1978-1980. In 1980 he moved to London and for
five years studied at both the London School of Music and Croydon
College. He earned a degree in marketing and advertising from Croydon
College in 1983 and returned to Istanbul to work as a jingle composer
in the advertising sector.
Career
From 1987 to present, Atakoğlu has created music for commercials, news
segments, and documentaries via advertising agencies including Lintas,
McCann Erickson, CDP Europe, Young & Rubicam, Saatchi &
Saatchi, and Ogilvy & Mather. Atakoğlu acknowledges that his
training in ad jingles honed his skill as a composer to create
immediate context within his music.
He has also composed music for Turkey's top bands and musicians,
including Mazhar Fuat Özkan, Sezen Aksu, and Sertab Erener. He also
composed music for Greek musician Notis Sfakinakis, with Atakoğlu's
song Telos Dios Telos going platinum with sales over 480,000 copies.
Since 1994 Atakoğlu has recorded 9 albums which have sold over 2
million copies in 17 countries. His 2005 album If is a collaboration
featuring bass guitarist Anthony Jackson and two time grammy award
winning percussionist Horacio "EI Negro" Hernandez.
Atakoğlu's scoring includes the adaptation of Metin Kaçan's novel Ağır
Roman (East Side Story) into a musical which was performed locally in
Turkey as well as at Hollywood's Ford Amphitheater in August 2006 by
the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet.
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