Mert Pekduraner is a guitarist, composer, and bandleader, born and based in Amsterdam who has been playing the guitar since his childhood. At a young age, he started thinking about music not only through the guitar but with everything he would need to tell his story. His time in Turkey exposed him to the authentic and traditional sounds of
Anatolia, which had a significant influence on his compositional ideas and arrangement techniques. This led to the integration of a fretless guitar alongside the standard guitar in his music, enriching his compositional approach with a
broader perspective—particularly through the use of microtones as he aimed for a good blend. Today Mert Pekduraner continues to work as an accomplished composer, producer and performer.

In 2020, Pekduraner, who introduced the first sounds of future music with his composition "Kıyı (Side by Side Venice Biennale Main Theme)" for the 17th Venice Biennale, created a unique audience for himself. Pekduraner presented his compositional style with the six tracks on his debut studio album, ''Geriye Ne Kaldı?'',
which was released in 2021. With this album, the composer’s signature melodies were heard for the first time and will continue to appear in future works. His second album, “DIALOGUES IN THE DARK”, released in 2022, took a deeper dive into his compositional approach, with its detailed instrumentation and musical style.This album
takes listeners on a more in-depth journey into the development of his compositional artistry.

In 2023, he was invited to perform at Babylon in Istanbul as part of the Turkey edition of International Jazz Day. The string-oriented side of his compositional style, highlighted in his second album, was performed live at this concert. He shared a special project with the audience, featuring a nine-member ensemble that included a string group brought in
specifically for the string arrangements composed for the event. Besides to group concerts, Pekduraner also performs solo concerts internationally with his primary instruments, the fretless and standard guitars in Europe.

He performed alongside artists such as Mammal Hands, GoGo Penguin, Erkan Ogur, Erik Truffaz at venues and festivals including the Paris La Peniche Anako, Amsterdam Bethlehemkerk, Akbank Jazz Festival, Borusan Music House, Theater De Roode Bioscoop, Codarts Rotterdam, Cappadox, Nilüfer Jazz Festival, Salon IKSV, Rotterdam Dizzy Jazz Club, Batavierhuis and more.