Duo Tandem is an instrumental guitar duo with an emphasis on story-telling through music. Collaborating with composers and writing for themselves, Duo Tandem has compiled a far-reaching set of new music based on old world imagery and new world stories.

Having already established themselves as virtuoso solo performers, Necati Emirzade and Mark Anderson formed Duo Tandem while studying at the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music. What they discovered working together in San Francisco was a shared artistic vision as they sought to blend their distinct, individual cultural backgrounds into a unique, combined musical voice. This pursuit continued even after Necati moved to London and Mark moved to Chicago.

While this ‘long distance relationship’ is in many ways an obstacle, it has also allowed Duo Tandem to expand their reach with performances throughout the US and Europe. Acclaimed as ‘such skilled and intuitive players’ by Blair Jackson of Classical Guitar Magazine, Necati and Mark are able to bring audiences into their world; as Jackson writes, ‘a magical blend that is no longer any one style, but instead a new and exciting polyglot.’

Meaning ‘Without Words’, Sans Paroles is an album of all instrumental music, but the title also speaks to the depth of Necati and Mark’s musical connection. They are two musicians in synch with each other, seamlessly blending together though still maintaining distinct voices. Duo Tandem brings to life diverse styles of music from the brand new (“Four Postcards”) to re-imaginings of the old (“Nocturne No. 8”) as well as Americana (“Up!”) and a Tango collaboration with violinist Camilla Gregorovitch (“Suite Troileana”).