Nevzat Akpınar, who taught himself to play the Turkish string instrument Bağlama, completed masterclasses with the legendary singer and Bağlama virtuoso Talip Özkan in Paris. In 2002 he completed his studies in comparative musicology (ethnomusicology) and Turkish studies. In 2009, Akkiraz Müzik, Istanbul released his solo CD On Hybrid Ways, featuring exclusively his own compositions. With his Greek-German rebetiko band Zotos Compania, he has released two albums and composed solo pieces for Bağlama based on Turkish poetry and chamber music. He composed the music for the play Perikızı at Ballhaus Naunynstraße (2011). Most recently he performed with the Berliner Symphoniker in the Philharmonie with his project Johann Dede, a piece for string orchestra.