Vizontele was our first soundtrack. The earlier albums Kardeş Türküler (1977) and Doğu (1999), focused on the broad spectrum of ethnic music of Anatolia. Taking on the musical direction of Şivan Perwer's album Roj û Heyv (2000), gave us the chance to become more closely acquainted with the folk songs of Mesopotamia. Thus, preparing the music for a film set in the east of Turkey, the dramaturgy of earlier works served as a framework that showed us the way. Cinema, on the other hand, bringing up as it does the relationship between music and the visual, required a different approach. Here, one basic philosophy was that the music should avoid the function of “translating,” turning the visual atmosphere into sound. Rather, with its own style, it should contribute to the film. In this sense, the music, beyond simply reinforcing/emphasizing the meaning of the scenes, can, as an atmosphere, bring about a “reestablishment” of that visual in its own realm. For this reason, it seemed a more correct approach to design the relationship between the film and the music as one of two autonomous entities that observe each other. It is with this approach that the music for “Vizontele” was arranged.

The words, voices, silhouettes...people...Deli Emin, Siti Ana, Nazmi Bey... Latif the Cinema owner, Veli, Artis Fikri, Rifat, Asiye...the rest... hidden in the parts of my mind I was unable to use for so long. The true heroes of my childhood, the imaginary heroes of the film...and the story of Vizontele, which turned a comical ache into a melancholy celebration. Kardeş Türküler are the ones who brought this tale to life, nourished it, gave it voice. Lawje, Lorik, Ağıt, Bozlak, Halay, Karşlıama, Uğurlama... To them, to Kardeş Türküler, to the magnificent blend that has accumulated on these lands throughout history, to that unequalled chaos, to Diler, Erol,Vedat,Feryal, Selda and the other members of the group, I am greatly indebted. I thank you for giving voice to my heart, for looking with your own eyes at the thousand-year-old heritage of Mesopotamia and Anatolia. I will keep your music with me forever. / Yılmaz Erdoğan