Meet Sueda Catakoglu | Musician & Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sueda Catakoglu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sueda, why did you pursue a creative career?
I am a composer, songwriter, pianist and singer. The reason why I decided to pursue a career in music is entirely my passion for it. I always dreamed of doing the profession that I am truely passionate about. Performing and composing my songs, writing my own lyrics, creating my own show and planning all the details behind the scene has always given me the absolute joy. I really observed myself during my conservatory years, to really make sure if I am ready to deal with the difficulties that being a performer or composer brings to the life, and I decided I am ready to deal with those, because I really like what I do.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My name is Sueda. I am a composer, pianist, producer, singer and performer from Turkey based in Boston. I am studying professional music with concentrations of Contemporary Writing production, Jazz Composition and piano performance at the Berklee College of Music. I write, arrange and produce songs that are stylistically influenced by Turkish music, Jazz, Musical theatre and European Cabaret. Despite the fact that I am an active performer, I never lost my composer and creator identity, since working behind the scenes is something that feeds my creativity the most. I am very excited and happy about how my debut album Sueda Sings Sezen came out. This project was definitely a culminate experience that I had a chance to showcase the abilities and craft that I received from my studies at Berklee College of Music. Producing , arranging this album that I am also entirely performing was not easy, and I overcome these difficulties thanks to my co producer friend Kara. Her knowledge and sensitivity while taking decisions helped me enormously. I was able to trust her, as well as to my team, musicians and the record label that I was working with. The biggest lesson I have learned while working on this project is that once I again I understood the value of trust and I have seen the positive outcomes of a trust based professional relationship. This album has been produced during our time at Berklee and it symbolizes our time at Berklee as students. It was my debut album and first tribute album to a great singer songwriter Sezen Aksu who inspired me a lot, right before releasing my original 3 songs EP. I can not wait to share my original songs that we are aiming to release by the end of Spring 2024.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely take my best friend to Davis Square, it is the most inspiring place for me. I would take them to the thrift shops which have vintage clothes and so many interesting stuff. Mr. Crepes would be the place to eat for sure, that’s my favorite spot in Boston. I would also love them to see Harvard Square to see my favorite wine & cheese shop as well as Harvard Bookstore. I would take them to see a concert at Lillypad and Monkfish as well as taking them to city theaters of Boston such as Central Square Theater.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely have so many wonderful people in my life that they were together with me in this journey. Heartfelt thanks to my dearest family, my sister Gokce who is a wonderful musician as well, my dearest friend, co producer and sound engineer Kara Snethlage who poured her soul into this project, my extraordinary team: Yagmur Tamer for all her creativity and endless support at difficult moments of this project
Dearest Dennis van der Sanden, Filippo Novi Goller, Kerem Seckin, Uphasak Muherjee, Sam Sjostedt, Eren Erdogan, Hogir Goregen, Klara, Mehrpouya Daneshvar, Sinan Cem Eroğlu, Volkan Efe, Akihiro

My record label, Ahenk Music, Sercan Yilmaz, who believed in me and my songs so much and supported me a lot and offered this project as a beginning of my record career.
My friends behind the scenes: Beste, Sevinc, Gorsev Tepe for all the mental support and help with every small detail
My professors at Berklee, my piano professor Steve Hunt for all the inspiration and knowledge, Shelagh Abate and Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol

Website: https://suedacatakoglu.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sueda_catakoglu/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/süeda-çatakoğlu-863b54114/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sueda.catakoglu/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmc8Oyd1Tx8&list=OLAK5uy_l2yHagm2wf2nSh_N_GkQfF0J6RUOP5NYQ

Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/7IkDKeAGzMGVONrYO4qQgn?si=BHiSM9u6RNKqpdJnmTcYAw https://music.lnk.to/XHFxoU

Image Credits
Yagmur Tamer instagram: @ angrychair Caglayan Dursun instagram: @cglyndrsn Goldenlions photography instagram: golden lion photography