Şebnem Ferah

Şebnem Ferah (born 12th April 1972) is a Turkish singer and song-writer. She was the lead vocalist of the all-female hard rock band Volvox (TR) until 1994, after which she went on to pursue a solo career. Her musical style varies from acoustic rock to hard rock, though her later albums have progressively incorporated more of the hard rock sound. Born in Yalova to Turkish immigrant parents from Skopje, Macedonia, Ferah got her first guitar when she was in the first year in boarding at Bursa Namık Sözeri High School. She took lessons on the acoustic guitar, and during her second year she hired a studio with her friends and formed the group Pegasus. The group had their first stage experience during a rock festival in Bursa, in 1987. After a while, Pegasus disbanded. In 1988 with her four friends, Ferah formed Volvox, which was named after a microorganism that they had encountered in a biology lesson. After a period during which she attended Middle East Technical University, studying economics in Ankara, she moved to Istanbul, where she attended classes on English language and literature at the Istanbul University.