DUO KAN

Biography
Press

Duo KAN, was born from the unexpected meeting of two musicians were born in different countries who crossed paths in Istanbul,Türkiye. Clarinetist Serkan Hakkı and pianist Berkan Kaya draw inspiration from their personal migration stories and life experiences, creating a unique musical dialogue and sound between clarinet and piano. Playing original compositions and reinterpretations of existing works, the duo shapes a distinctive sound influenced by jazz and Makam music traditions. Their music reflects themes of migration, memory and encounter, inviting the listener into an intimate and emotional journey.

Syrian and Balkan war memories meet thorught Jazz in Istanbul!

DUO KAN’s Debut Album “Intentional Simplicity,” Bringing Together Maqam and Jazz Music, is Out on November 11!

Bearing the traces of civil wars in Syria and Kosovo, two musicians transform the pain of displacement and the process of adapting to different cultures into an intimate dialogue of microtonal clarinet and jazz piano.

ISTANBUL – From two ancient cities bearing the scars of war, two life stories stretching from the cities of Aleppo in Syria and Pristina in Kosovo intersected in Istanbul.

Syrian and Balkan war memories meet thorught Jazz in Istanbul!

DUO KAN’s Debut Album “Intentional Simplicity,” Bringing Together Maqam and Jazz Music, is Out on November 11!

ISTANBUL – From two ancient cities bearing the scars of war, two life stories stretching from the cities of Aleppo in Syria and Pristina in Kosovo intersected in Istanbul.

Formed by clarinetist Serkan Hakkı and pianist Berkan Kaya, DUO KAN meets the listener on November 11 with their debut album “Intentional Simplicity,” in which they transform the pain of war, migration, and the process of adapting to different cultures into music.

“Intentional Simplicity” tells the inner journey and survival resilience of human beings forced to change their homeland. The traces left by the wars in Syria and Kosovo on individual and collective memory blend with the different cultures the artists encountered along their migration paths, forming the soul of this album.

The Deep Encounter of Maqam Music and Contemporary Jazz

At the heart of the album lies the seamless fusion of Eastern Maqam music and Contemporary Jazz. The microtonal/Maqam clarinet language that Serkan Hakkı carried from Aleppo and developed through his journeys across Syria, Türkiye, the USA, and Spain enters into a profound dialogue with Berkan Kaya’s contemporary jazz harmonies nourished by his Pristina roots.

Consisting of five original works titled Introspection, Home Essence, Winter Siesta, Wild Flower, and Flow, the album reveals how music born out of pain transforms, through the influence of different cultures, into a serene, tender, and “Intentional Simplicity.”

“Although Aleppo and Pristina are geographically far from each other, they are two cities connected by a shared human memory. Changing homelands and getting used to new cultures leaves deep traces on the human soul. In our music, while the clarinet speaks through the Maqams of the East, the piano responds to it with the harmonic freedom of jazz. This is our way of transforming the pain of our past into a living conversation.” Serkan Hakkı & Berkan Kaya (DUO KAN)

About the Artists

Serkan Hakkı (Clarinet): Aleppo-born Syrian-Turkish clarinetist, producer, instructor, and researcher. Known for his microtonal music studies and his “Clarinet in Arabic Music” curriculum, the artist’s projects bringing together Middle Eastern traditions with jazz, flamenco, and electronic music have been featured in international media outlets such as The Guardian and the BBC.

Berkan Kaya (Piano): Pristina-born Kosovar-Turkish pianist, arranger, and producer. Known for albums such as ‘Crystal Silence’ and ‘Pendant’, Kaya brings together contemporary jazz and world music with an original sonic depth and sensitivity.