Joncan Kavlakoglu’s electrifying performance on an acoustic guitar, had the audience grooving and clapping, thrilled and excitedly hooting. With Turkish and British roots, Joncan is a one-man band. He performed for the first time in India at Taj West End, as part of the opening of the second Audio Lounge store. His performance was unique in every sense, from his style of music, which is Flamenco funk fusion to his compositions such as ‘Patience’ and ‘Strings Attached’, in which his performance was so intense that one guitar string broke! Add to this, he engaged the audience with a stunning body percussion act. In a post-show interview, Joncan spoke of his musical journey and his memorable performance at guitarist Jimi Hendrix’s apartment in 2018 for a special evening of music. Excerpts
You have been described as a one-man band, how did you develop such skill?
I was percussive as a child, before I even picked up a guitar. This percussion led to an acoustic style. Earlier I used to play electric guitar in big, funk, hip hop and Latin bands. I wanted to see if I can take the energy of a live funk or Latin band and distil it into an instrument.
Tell us about the Flamenco influence
My mother spent a lot of her life in Spain. She used to play a lot of Flamenco for me when I was young.
How did you pick up various musical styles?
I would say very humbly and honestly I am a Jack of all trades and a master of none. I can jump in between styles and use elements from each in my music.
Tell us about your experience performing at Jimi Hendrix’s apartment
Words can’t describe that experience, really. I grew up on Jimi Hendrix’s music. It was an honour. There are pictures of him in his room and it has been maintained just as he left it. I thought I am in the house of the progenitor of modern electronic guitar, there is an aura about it, it was absolutely uplifting.
You engaged the audience brilliantly, how did you manage that?
I spent many years busking on the streets of Dublin and stations around Europe. When you are busking all you have is your energy and your performance. You have to give it your all. If you want to impact them with your music as they are walking, you need to give everything. In today’s performance (at The Taj West End) I bounced off the audience. I did the body percussion thing which also seemed to work well.
What is your composition process like?
Some tracks can be longer, some shorter. Most of my tracks represent a topic. It is an initial difficult task of cracking the melody with the rhythm. Once you start to practice it becomes more natural. For example in ‘Strings Attached’, a string broke, which wasn’t planned, and because of that I had to think what tracks do I need to fit in.
I have also performed in Sofar Sounds, an intimate performances in various locales, in apartments, offices, across the world. About 50 guests will sit on the floor, three musicians will play. We talk to them. I love to communicate things about music.
Published - September 18, 2018 04:08 pm IST
