He also does research on classical Turkish music, archiving forgotten compositions and mixing Ottoman music with western rhythms and improvisational jazz. He has produced film music with world-famous directors like Peter Brook and Tony Gatlif as well as engaging in joint projects with musicians such as Peter Gabriel, Didier Lockwood and Michel Portal. Coming together with Erguner on the occasion of his latest project, 'Metaphor', we talked with him about his life in music, his multi-cultural projects, his new books, and the much-debated East-West divide.

You've said that you 'inherited' your profession from your grandfather Süleyman Erguner and your father Ulvi Erguner, both of whom were 'ney' players. How did you start playing the ney as a child?
It was out of the question in those days that my peers would take any interest in the ney or in Turkish classical music. People simply had no such interests; in fact, such things were slightly frowned upon.