Sinem Saniye | nl

Sinem Saniye (b. 1979 is a German-born, U.S.-based songwriter, singer, and guitarist of Turkish descent.

Born on the 27th September 1979 in Munich, Germany, Saniye's ethnic roots are in Turkey. Her family was living in Germany while her father received treatment for liver cancer. Sadly, he died when his daughter was just two weeks away from her first birthday. His last wish was for her to leave Germany and travel to the United States to receive her education. To honour this request, his widow took her daughter (then three years old) to New York City to attend The Calhoun School from kindergarten to 7th grade.

She and her family moved to Dobbs Ferry, Westchester, where Saniye attended The Masters School. Having taken tap and ballet classes at Calhoun, Saniye auditioned for and was accepted by Masters's dance club, known as Dance Company.

Saniye went on to Skidmore College, where she started as a biology major, but halfway through her first year she swicthed to become a music major, with a concentration in classical voice (opera), and music technology. She became a member of the co-ed singing group, The Dynamics. As a senior member of the Dynamics, she arranged a vocal rendition of "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5, which the group performed at Lincoln Center's Avery Fischer Hall. She also took occasional jazz guitar lessons with Chuck D'Aloia, and even dabbled as a jazz singer for an ensemble headed by Jon Nazarenko in 2000, and again with Chris Brubeck (son of Dave Brubeck) in 2001. While at Skidmore, dhe also took classes in West African drumming (headed by Yacub D'Addy) and West African dance class; she was also the lead in a theatre production/operetta called The World is Round.

After graduating with Honours in Music, Saniye stayed in Saratoga Springs for another year, where she worked at the college, recorded her first demo CD, and performed at open mics around town. The following September, she moved back to New York City, this time on her own, to pursue a Masters Degree in Music Technology at New York University.

After nearly a year of graduate studies, Saniye yet again felt herself drawn to singing/songwriting. Though she loved both fields very much, she knew the time had come to choose either engineering or performing. The decision to continue singing/songwriting and performing became easier when she met musician and producer Philip A. Jimenez (Wheatus). Though she had entered his Long Island studio to record a second demo, Jimenez convinced her to record a full-length album. After nearly three years of working on new material with Jimenez, stress and depression caused Saniye to suspend the full-album project. When it resumed, the French producer Henri Scars Struck took over, and within one year they finished the album, When I Don't Sleep.

* Official site .