Monika Bulanda
Monika Bulanda musician and multidisciplinary artist born in Cracow (Poland) currently living in Istanbul. She graduated from Jazz Drums Department at Katowice Music Academy in Poland as well as studied at Chopin Jazz School of Warsaw with prominent polish jazz drummer Kazimierz Jonkisz. Following her passion for languages she also graduated from Sinology Department at Warsaw University. Her musical journey can be characterised as “ multi cultural experiment” as her music includes elements from different musical traditions and styles. She firstly lived and performed in China, then was invited to Kuala Lumpur to lead the Sonor Drums workshops, after that she performed in India with renowned percussionists Karuna Moorthy and Mattanur Sankarankutty . In 2008 invited by American bass player Tony Jones she came to Turkey to join his jazz trio. Amazed by diverse music traditions and sounds that she discovered in Istanbul she gave a full focus on creating her own projects in art and music. She is known for her collaborations with some of the most prominent jazz artists from Turkey and Poland with whom she performed at Nişville İnternational Jazz Festival, Novisad Jazz Festival, Alanya Jazz Günleri ,İstanbul Jazz Festival, Kalamış Jazz Festival and many others. She also recorded drums for couple of jazz albums that got international exposure. For many years she toured worldwide with Turkish renowned pop artists such as Kenan Doğulu, Ajda Pekkan, Mustafa Sandal, Mabel Matiz and many others playing percussion. Fascinated by Turkish music she started to study traditional Turkish music playing Yaylı Tambur under tuition of Hasan Kiriş. Her musical adventure also includes singing and songwriting. She released couple of singles and solo album that she written and produced herself. With the support of Polish Embassy and Consulate in Istanbul she created many projects that blend Polish and Turkish folk music and represented Poland at Bursa International Festival, Sound Of Europe Festival as well as Festival Of Polish Culture in Istanbul.
