Atakan Ünüvar

Atakan Ünüvar is a Turkish musician and sound artist working in the field of jazz and light music. He was born on March 28, 1944. He is best known to the masses as the lead singer of the band Five Years Ago Ten Years Later, which represented Türkiye in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest.

musical life

Ünüvar, who learned to play mandolin, accordion, piano, saxophone and flute, continued singing and instrumentalism. He worked with musicians such as İlhan Feyman, Özdemir Erdoğan and Doruk Onatkut in the country; Between 1972 and 1977, he performed with the Marshall Higgins Orchestra in various European countries.

Five Years Ago Ten Years Later, with Nilgün Onatkut, Mehmet Horoz and Şebgün Tansel, was a group known for its harmonious vocals. The group performed the song Halay at the 1984 Eurovision held in Luxembourg and finished 12th with 37 points.

He was among the founding members of the TRT Istanbul Radio Jazz Orchestra, established in 1982; He worked there as a saxophone and flute player until his retirement in 2008. His efforts in the field of jazz were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Istanbul Jazz Festival.