Strongly drawn to my Spanish Gypsy heritage, I grew up listening to Flamenco music, and have studied and played Flamenco since I was a young teenager. My high school years included fronting a rock band called Voodoo Lab with a few friends. Somewhere along the way I discovered Celtic music, and even played in a couple of Celtic bands.

I've always loved learning about music, language, history and culture from all over the world. My avid curiosity eventually led me into Mediterranean, Arabic and Hindi music. I often joke that the music I play might be considered "Türkü-Mozarabiceltindi." That is, Turkish, Moz-Arab, Celtic, and Hindi.

As you might guess, playing all these different styles of music meant I picked up playing quite a few different instruments. In addition to acoustic and classical guitar, I play the oud, bouzouki, balalaika, mandolin, banjo, saz, cümbüş, bass guitar, clarinet, and an assortment of folk drums and other instruments.

The different styles and nationalities of traditional ethnic folk music offer me a rich outlet for expressing my inner self, and for exploring the nuances of different ways of life and the subtle ties that weave us all together.

It was that sort of alchemical experimentation, trying to create harmonious blends using disparate musical elements– some of which originate from cultures with histories of violent conflict between them– that led me to my current project, Musical Heresy.

Musical Heresy is an attempt to blend these forms fluidly into a greater world style, one that transcends the often adversarial nature of our planet's different cultures.