Ozan Baysal is a Turkish saz (bağlama) player who was born in Karaman. A composer and performer specialising in playing şelpe (a performance technique of the saz without the use of a plectrum). His music is characterized by a distinctive synthesis between traditional performance practices of şelpe and harmonic practices in tonal & jazz music. He was former research assistant at Istanbul Technical University – Centre for Advanced Studies in Music (MIAM) between 2014-2019, where he researched performance traditions of Anatolian şelpe technique. He is currently conducting his own research project as visiting scholar at SOAS University of London. He is particularly interested in collaborative composing and performing with the musicians from different cultural backgrounds. He performed at several cross-cultural music festivals such as festival d’Aix-en-Provence in Marseille/France, Nuoro Jazz Festival in Sardinia/Italy, and 10th Alevi Festival in London/UK.