Mutlu at The Bitter End

A Philadelphia musician who proudly carries a torch for the city’s soul legacy, Mutlu makes a connectionwith every audience.Coming up in the Philly scene, he played around town and in area clubs before landing his first touropening for Joe Jackson. Since then he’s toured across the U.S. and Europe with his musical brother,Amos Lee, who discovered Mutlu’s music just as both of their careers were taking off. In addition he’sfound an advocate with Daryl Hall & John Oates, who invited Mutlu to support a national theater tour.Mutlu (pronounced moot’-lu) is a first-generation American whose parents moved from Turkey to theUnited States in the 1970s...

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A Philadelphia musician who proudly carries a torch for the city’s soul legacy, Mutlu makes a connectionwith every audience.Coming up in the Philly scene, he played around town and in area clubs before landing his first touropening for Joe Jackson. Since then he’s toured across the U.S. and Europe with his musical brother,Amos Lee, who discovered Mutlu’s music just as both of their careers were taking off. In addition he’sfound an advocate with Daryl Hall & John Oates, who invited Mutlu to support a national theater tour.Mutlu (pronounced moot’-lu) is a first-generation American whose parents moved from Turkey to theUnited States in the 1970s. He discovered the strength of his voice in high school while singing in aBroadway revue. He liked being on stage but didn’t anticipate pursuing it as a career. However, whileearning a marketing degree from Drexel University, he spent innumerable hours practicing guitar, writingsongs, and playing open mic nights. Now roughly fifteen years into a career as a professional musician, hebelieves that his Turkish heritage informs his perspective as an artist.“From a writing standpoint, having that multicultural background from a young age fuels your creativityin a different way,” he believes. “It makes you empathize with things differently than you would have.”Whether crooning a love song like “Caramel” (which echoes the Gamble & Huff output of the ‘70s),spreading optimism in “Lifeline,” or sharing a look into his own life as in “Scarred,” Mutlu can bring hisdiverse catalog together through the power of his voice. He’s been recognized by the Los Angeles Times,The New York Times, and The Philadelphia Inquirer for his sweet, silky tone. Bruce Warren of WXPNonce described Mutlu’s music as “a mix of soul, reggae, world music and folk, all tied together in thesinger-songwriter tradition.”“The vocal connection, that’s the cornerstone of everything I do,” he says. “Everything else is in serviceof that, performance-wise and production-wise. In R&B and soul music, singers try to really emotionallyconnect, vocally. It’s about that special thing that can happen when you really dig down deep and give aperformance that moves people.”Mutlu launched his music career on Manhattan Records with the 2008 album, Livin’ It, produced bymentor and friend T Bone Wolk. Since then, he’s developed his international audience through touring,multiple appearances on Live From Daryl’s House, and a steady stream of independent singles and EPs,most recently 2019’s Good Trouble. He cites songs like “Livin’ It,” “Hello Morning,” and “One Life WithYou” as staples in his set, yet he believes that the show experience is far more than just playing the samematerial every night.“For people who know the songs, it’s about giving something more than they would get on the record,” hesays. “I tour a lot solo, and for me it’s about going beyond just playing the songs. It’s about creating acommunity and finding a way to connect with people.”

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