Volkan Öktem

Volkan Öktem is an independent artist living in Istanbul and working on various projects in many genres, including live stage performances and studio recording sessions. He found the perfect environment to reflect his unique style, when he and several other musicians formed “Lago Tayfa”, which fuses traditional Turkish music with Jazz, Funk, and Reggae. They performed locally as well as globally at many concerts, such as New York Central Park and Istanbul International Jazz Festival.

He has the feature of many styles, such as Pop, Jazz, Fusion, Latin, Rock, Reggae and traditional Turkish music. He played with John Scofield in the 11th Istanbul International Jazz Festival. Furthermore, he played with Bendik Hofseth “Down to Earth" project in Istanbul. He played with Istanbul Superband feat. Dianne Reeves. Also performed with Okan Ersan & Istanbul Superband in the Leverkusen Jazz Festival two years in a row. 2008 he attended Yamaha All Stars Europe in Frankfurt and 2019 Yamaha Drum Show in Paris. He participated in Coke Studio 2020 during the pandemic. He also played with Dee Dee Bridgewater in Izmir. He played with Aydin Esen Group in Paris and Ankara, feat. Wolfgang Muthspiel in Vienna. Performed with Gilad Atzmon, Andy Sheppard, Guillaume Perret, Nils Petter Molvaer, Marius Neset, Erik Truffaz and Sig (aka Siegfried) between 2015-2022. His first solo album “#7” was released on February 2023.

He’s been working with Tarkan for 17 years and touring in Turkey and Europe. On the other hand, he is giving concerts with his group Sonic Boom and tours as Volkan Öktem Band. Plays in independent projects, workshops and masterclass series. He performed on more than 200 albums. He still continues working on studio recordings in Turkey, as well as performing internationally for various projects.