Keeping Politics Out of Music
Maral (Maral) revealed she has at times faced pressure for maintaining an apolitical stance in her career. She stressed her music is universal and that she refuses to deliver provocative messages based on identity or politics.
Born in Bingöl, the singer appeared on Haber Bahane (Haber Bahane) hosted by Gökay Kalaycıoğlu (Gökay Kalaycıoğlu) at the Haberler.com studio. She shared clear views on identity, music, and society.
Drawing Lines On Air
The host underlined the difference between highlighting Turkey as a mosaic without losing ethnic identity and pursuing provocative identity politics. Maral affirmed her distance from such political framing.
“Emphasizing Turkey’s mosaic character without losing ethnic identity is one thing; stoking provocative identity politics is another.”
“I have always been against that.”
“There Is No Politics In My Lexicon”
“No, no—perhaps you’ve noticed. Never. I know music is universal, and I believe a true artist has no fixed color, identity, or stance. In primary school my teacher told me: if you choose this path, you must either have no persona or be two-faced. I didn’t grasp it then; years later I learned that on stage you must be the artist only. Even if you have grief, joy, conflicts, or causes, they don’t belong on stage, because you have an audience and must always give your best. Off stage you’re someone else—a woman with her own identity, principles, and boundaries. I never mix my personal identity with the stage, and I react when things turn into partisanship, because the stage is different—it’s about livelihood, and I focus on my work.”
Criticism and Warnings
The presenter asked whether she had faced criticism or pressure for avoiding politics and provocative acts, and whether she received messages like “How can you be Kurdish or Zaza and not chant slogans?” or even threats.
“I can’t say I was heavily threatened, but I was certainly warned. Some said, ‘Why don’t you do this? Go ahead.’ But I’m a mindful soloist and I’ve always known what to do and where. I had no such political cause to begin with. I wanted the whole world to hear and know my song, and thankfully I experienced that.”
From Bingöl to London
Maral said that from a young age she fought family objections to study at the conservatory, charting her path by performing in folk music bars. She added that she carried her music to international platforms.
During her years in London, she had the chance to present Turkish music to foreign audiences, a step that helped expand her listenership abroad.
