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 lifeFrom the age of 7, Atakoglu 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 Resit Rey, Turkey’s famous composer, pianist, script writer, and conductor. Atakoglu 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.
CareerFrom 1987 to present, Atakoglu 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. Atakoglu 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 Atakoglu's song Telos Dios Telos going platinum with sales over 480,000 copies.
Since 1994 Atakoglu 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.
Atakoglu's scoring includes the adaptation of Metin Kaçan's novel Agir 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. ( wikipedia)
