interviews
Bilal Göregen From The “Cat Vibing to Street Musician's Ievan Polkka” Meme Fills Us In On What It’s Like To Become An Internet Celebrity Overnight
he Vibing Cat meme, also known as CatJAM, has swept across the internet in recent weeks as one of the most well-known memes of 2020. By mid-October, the meme transformed from its original iterations as a viral video and popular Twitch emote to include a variant that featured Turkish street musician Bilal Göregen performing “Ievan Polkka,” with hundreds of derivatives appearing on Reddit and Twitter to YouTube and more. Dubbed “Cat Vibing to Street Musician's Ievan Polkka,” the meme eventually reached its way to Göregen himself, who noticed an increase in attention from international audiences who discovered his YouTube channel while looking into the meme. Although the experience was a new one for him, Göregen has now fully embraced his association with becoming an internet phenomenon. We spoke with Göregen in Turkey to hear more about who he is and how he reacted to his image being used in memes around the globe.
Q: Welcome Bilal. Glad we were able to speak with you, so thanks for taking the time. To start off, can you introduce yourself a bit for everyone and fill us in on who you are for those unfamiliar?
A: First of all, I would like to thank Know Your Meme for giving me this opportunity. I greet you all with my most heartfelt feelings. I am Bilal Göregen. I was born in Hatay Province, Turkey in September 1988, and have been making music since my childhood. Since it is a requirement now, I have been using social media platforms, especially YouTube to share my talent with the rest of the world. My biggest goal and dream is to be a useful individual to the whole of society.
Our adventure, which began in Istanbul in 2009, has been continuing with our YouTube channel for the last three years. As a visually impaired person by birth, I have always thought that being disabled does not prevent success, and I continued my life with this thought. The musical journey I have been on since my childhood has given me the opportunity to appeal to all the people of the world, as well as providing material and spiritual means.
Q: Alright, let’s discuss some of your background and early artistic endeavors. Can you tell us some of your backstory and how you first got into music? What inspired you to become a musician?
A: I started my musical life at the age of 4. What inspired me was the tools that I could make sound with when I hit them, such as boxes, buckets and drums. First, I started creating rhythm patterns with these instruments and I climbed the rhythm steps one by one, and finally, I gained experience in percussion instruments. In addition, I played baglama [a stringed instrument similar to a lute] and piano, albeit on a small scale. I do not only play percussion instruments during my performance, but I also imitate the rhythm with my mouth to embellish my overall skills. My skills are not limited to these, but I also have my deep knowledge related to musical notation and musicology. Other features I would like to mention are that I compose lyrics and music right off the bat.
Q: What about Ievan Polkka? How did you settle on this particular style of music, and what drew you to it?
A: As a musician who embraces every kind of music in one’s capacity, I sing Ievan Polkka with enthusiasm. My discovery of Ievan Polkka developed like this: One day while listening to the radio, I heard this music and wondered the name of the song and who sang it. This curiosity prompted me to research, and I found the song at the end of my research and memorized it after listening to it one time. This is how I met Ievan Polkka, [which stems from a Finnish folk song in the 1800s].
Q: Jumping up to early 2017, you launched your YouTube channel and began uploading videos of yourself playing music. What inspired you to begin sharing your music online, and what was the reception like early on?
A: My dear friend Bayram Boynukara initiated the creation of my YouTube channel and said that such a formation would advance me. Today, this journey continues with my dear friend.
Q: Even before your video became associated with the CatJam and Vibing Cat meme, your channel was receiving a decent amount of attention online. Can you tell us more about some of the covers you did in the past, and how you reacted to your channel’s growth early on?
A: My process of becoming famous, which started with the song "Abi Deyince" (“When You Say Brother”) in 2009, was perfected by making different non-verbal music. Every video that people watch makes me very happy.
Q: So then in October this year, the video from 2019 of yourself performing Ievan Polkka on a bench in Turkey went viral and ultimately became the clip used in one of the CatJam and Vibing Cat memes. Do you remember when you first noticed one of these memes using your video? How did you initially react to hearing about these online?
A: Ievan Polkka was actually viewed by many in Turkey before spreading to the rest of the world, but about one and a half years later, we became aware through English comments at the bottom of the video that we were beginning to be followed in different countries. Reaching a worldwide audience made me very happy.
Q: During the earlier period of popularity surrounding your video and the meme, how familiar were you with internet culture and memes? Did you already have some experience with that or was this sort of an introduction to it?
A: As a visually impaired person, the answer to this question is obvious, but still, let me answer it briefly. No, I did not have such an experience. The manager of my channel, Bayram Boynukara, told me that when he noticed the situation, we had to investigate and work in this manner [to learn what was happening].
Q: Specifically your friends and family, how did they respond to you going viral across the internet? Did they enjoy the memes or were they concerned about how people were using your video and image in such a fashion?
A: My family and friends have always been proud of me for the videos we uploaded to my YouTube channel, and I would like to thank my sister Burcu Hilal Göregen Kaçar and my brother Enes Görgen, who is currently living in Ireland, for the support they provided. My dear sister has been my [eyes] in both my artistic activities and the other areas of my life since 2009, and again, my dear mother has never lost her love for me. You did not ask, but I will add this, my 11-year boarding school background and various events have brought me many life experiences, and I put forward an unforgettable struggle by blending my life experiences with music.
Q: In early November, your channel reuploaded the remix video of Vibing Cat bobbing along to your street drumming footage, accumulating over a million views in a week. Why did you decide to embrace your association with the Vibing Cat meme and feature it on your channel?
A: I say it clearly and clearly: To be watched and reach more people.
Q: Although you’d already had notable success with your YouTube channel prior to the recent meme, did you notice an influx of interest in your account and content after it exploded online? Are there any other significant ways it’s affected your life?
A: I'm actually known among followers in Turkey, but the event [Vibing Cat meme] comes from abroad. I was met with surprise at first regarding the viral video, but I've been happy with the situation after understanding [what it means].
Q: How has the response been from your previous fans and followers that were around before the meme? Also, have you received any interesting or wholesome messages from fans since your meme went viral that you can share with us?
A: When I read the comments section after my video went viral, I see that my Turkish followers still do not understand the meme, and they ask questions like, "Is the channel stolen? Why are there so many foreigners here? Where are the Turks?"
Q: Reflecting on the entire phenomenon of your video going viral around the world, how do you feel about the experience of yourself becoming a meme? Do you fully embrace the association with the CatJam and Vibing Cat meme, or is it still more of a shock you don’t quite understand?
A: Since I have a visual impairment, I can only tell you that the video has been watched a lot, and I am very happy that I have reached more people through it.
Q: Lastly, given the sheer amount of attention you’ve seen in recent weeks and the influx of new fans, is there a message or anything you want to put out regarding the experience to your fans?
A: I am just recovering from my COVID-19 ailment now, but I want to make new music in line with the wishes of my followers after I recover completely.
Bilal Göregen is a musician based in Turkey, better known to the internet as the man from the Cat Vibing to Street Musician's Ievan Polkka meme. You can stay up-to-date with him on Instagram and find his music on his YouTube channel for more.
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