Mesut Kurtis (Turkish: Mesut Kurtiş; Arabic: مسعود كُرتش) is a Turkish-Macedonian singer who is represented by and signed to Awakening Records. He has released four albums namely "Salawat", "Beloved", "Tabassam", and "Balaghal Ula" and one mini album namely "Azeem Al-Shan".
Kurtis comes from a scholarly and religious family.[2] His father and grandfather were fluent in Classical Arabic.[5]
Career
Kurtis at a concert in Konya, Turkey in 2014
Kurtis showed a strong interest in Islamic nasheeds from a very young age. He joined several nasheed groups in Macedonia that performed local[4] and also made several international visits including performances in Turkey and neighbouring places.[4] His music is influenced by Sufi, Turkish classical, Arabic and European styles.[6]
In May 2004, his debut album Salawat, produced by Awakening Records, was released and[7] featured songs that combine Arabic, Turkish and English.[8] It was well received by Muslim listeners around the world after his first music video "Al‐Burdah" which was filmed on location in the islands off the coast of Turkey.[9]
In June 2009, his second album Beloved was released.[10] On 7 July 2014, his third album Tabassam was released.[5]
Kurtis sings in Arabic, English, Macedonian and Turkish.[5] He is also fluent in five languages.[4]
Philanthropy
(From left) Maher Zain, Irfan Makki, Raef, Hamza Namira, Mesut Kurtis in "Send a little hope" UK tour in London in April 2012
On 14 April 2012, Kurtis took part in "Send A Little Hope" charity concert organised by Awakening Records and Save An Orphan organization at London's Hammersmith Apollo with Hamza Namira, Irfan Makki, Maher Zain and Raef to raise awareness and collect donations.[11] Over £175,000 were pledged on the night.[12]
On 21 April 2012, Kurtis performed at University City Hall by Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services in collaboration with the American University of Sharjah with Maher Zain in the charity concert aiming at introducing youth to disability issues and emphasising the importance of voluntarily work.[13]
Kurtis took part in "Sound of Light 2014" tour organized by Awakening Records and Human Appeal International in France and UK to collect fund for Gaza.[14] A concert in Bradford, England raised £520,000.[15]