Kazım Koyuncu Mausoleum
Kâzım Koyuncu (November 7, 1971, Hopa, Artvin - June 25, 2005, Istanbul) was a Turkish musician, songwriter, actor and activist of Laz origin who created his own style by synthesizing Eastern Black Sea and Laz music with rock music.
He was introduced to music at a very young age. He moved to Istanbul at the end of the 1980s. He first started making amateur rock music. In the early 1990s, he started to give small concerts in various places with his friends. In 1994, he created his own style by combining Laz music with rock music. In the same year, he and his friends decided to form a band called Zugashi Berepe. In 1995 the band released their first album, Va Mishkunan. The album received positive reactions as it was the first time they had heard this genre. In 1998 they released their second album Igzas. The album was more popular than the first album. After this album, the band disbanded. In the early 2000s, Kâzım Koyuncu went to military service. After his military service, he started working on his first solo album. In 2001, he released his first solo album, Viya!
In 2002, he started to produce the music for the television series Gülbeyaz together with Gökhan Birben. He also acted in some episodes of the series. The series music attracted great attention. Later, Kâzım Koyuncu became known throughout Turkey. His concerts were watched by large audiences. In 2003, he started recording his second solo album. In 2004, he released his second album Hayde. The second album reached a higher sales figure than the first. It became one of the best selling albums of the year. At the end of 2004, he received the news that he had cancer. His family and loved ones were very saddened by the news. Although doctors told him not to tire himself too much, Kâzım Koyuncu continued to give concerts. In 2005, he gave his last concert at Karadeniz Technical University. On June 25, 2005, he died at the age of 33 in Şişli after testicular cancer spread to his lungs.
