Princess Zumurrude had beautiful big eyes like those of a gazelle…
She closed her eyes and slept.
She had red lips like cherry…
With a little smile on her lips, she slept
While the whole world was in love with her…
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A Turkish voice, an Iraqi qanun (Arab lap harp) and a Belgian cello: that’s all it takes to make beautiful acoustic music.
Tri A Tolia arose in Ghent from the previous group of the singer Melike Tarhan. For the recording of Macar, from 2004, Tarhan worked with, among others, her Iraqi husband Osama Abdulrasol, a virtuoso qanun player, and cellist Lode Vercampt.
The trio now has a successor ready: Zumurrude, the story of a beautiful princess in the fairy tale of One Thousand and One Nights. The album sounds like the soundtrack to the fairy tale, a journey through the Middle East in which traditions flow into each other thanks to meticulous interplay.
Melike’s frivolous voice is accompanied masterfully on qanun and cello. The album sounds remarkably full, thanks to the cello, which beautifully weaves the oriental timbres together. Vercampt’s percussive playing adds an extra dimension to an album without percussion. (Benjamin Tollet , De Standaard)