Salih Nazım PEKER and Salih Korkut PEKER, who merged folk music with experimental and innovative interpretations into different forms, came together to form the acoustic project Duble Salih.

Following their first post on YouTube, a prisoner song called Mapushane Çeşmesi, Duble Salih has reached a massive list of fans by drawing attention with their interpretation of Mican which was also published in one of the most popular Turkish TV series called Çukur.

Duble Salih perform folk tunes from Anatolia (Minor Asia) and Rumelia (Southeastern Balkans) using mostly “cümbüş” and “divane”, which are relatively new folk string instruments of Turkish music. In their interpretations combining traditional performances with rebetiko, flamenco, blues and bluegrass elements, they want to touch the soul of the audience, with pure acoustics and simple arrangements.

Two Salihs and a double raki

Meaning double in Turkish, Duble refers to the two musicians named alike, and to the raki, this emblematic beverage of taverns in Balkans and Turkey, that one traditionally orders in double dose.

Two contemporary string instruments

Cümbüş. Zeynel Abidin Bey, a gunsmith and luthier from Skopje (Macedonia), invented the instrument inspired by the banjo and the oud, in 1930, in Istanbul. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk named it cümbüş, meaning “movement” or “musical entertainment”. Thanks to his metal body and skin sound board, this instrument can produce more volume and resonance than its cousins like oud or bağlama (saz). With its removable and adjustable neck, cümbüş is very easy to transport ; which explains why the instrument rapidly spread in Thrace and Anatolia and is now fully adopted in many cities.

Divane has been designed by electrical engineer Yavuz Gül, in the early 2000’s. He was searching for an instrument combining the bağlama (saz) playing technique and the thick-bass sounds of the lavta (Turkish microtonal fretted lute). The design and shape of divane reminds bağlama but bridge, machine heads and balcony system are totally different. It has also unique wounded, specially made strings. Divane has quickly drawn interest with its bass and rich sound, especially in Western Anatolia.