Hasan Saltik was born in the central district of Tunceli, Turkey, in 1964.
He grew up surrounded with the sound of folk songs and laments.
He finished primary school in Tunceli, and also began secondary school there, however, following his father's appointment to Istanbul, finished his secondary education in Istanbul.
There, he earned a place at the Istanbul State Conservatory of Music to study the oboe, however, due to financial difficulties, he discontinued his education there and graduated from Suadiye High School.
In 1991, he established Kalan Music.
At Kalan, he published recordings from the archives of collectors and old musician families that faced oblivion.
He also lent his support to researchers compiling musical works performed by regional artists in archaic languages or dialects, and spearheaded their production.
The broad archival material which Kalan has published is naturally of great importance to ethnomusicological studies as well, and ranges from recordings of the Zaza, Syriac, Pomak, Yazidi, Jewish, Greek, Armenian, Pontus peoples and Tahtaci Turkomans to individual luminaries such as Sadettin Kaynak, Münir Nurettin Selçuk, Haci Tasan, Hisarli Ahmet, Hafiz Yasar, Muharrem Ertas, Neset Ertas, Neyzen Tevfik, Malatyali Fahri, Asik Veysel and many others.
More than 900 projects pioneered by Saltik working as a musical archaeologist to unearth the cultural potential of Turkey helped Anatolia’s rich cultural heritage to reach the world through international festivals and take its deserved place in the most prestigious archives and libraries of the world where it can meet academicians, students, researchers and the peoples of all countries.
In 2003, Saltik received the Prince Claus Award.
The following year, Time magazine described him as “the anthropologist of folk music” and named him among “European Heroes”.
On 5 April 2017 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Senate of Istanbul Technical University, for his work that unearths Anatolia’s musical diversity and introduces it to the world.
In addition to the cultural values of the past, Kalan Music has also published the works of contemporary artists Ahmet Aslan, Barbaros Erköse, Birol Topaloglu, Café Aman Istanbul, Cengiz Özkan, Erkan Ogur, Fuat Saka, Grup Yorum, Ismail Altunsaray, Ismail Hakki Demircioglu, Kardes Türküler, Leman Sam, Mikail Aslan, Niyazi Koyuncu, Selçuk Balci, Djivan Gasparyan and Sevval Sam, and many other pop, rock and jazz groups.
Saltik is also a board member of MÜYAP, the major organization representing the recording industry of Turkey, and an IFPI member.
Saltik is married and has two children.
He remains fully dedicated to his mission of both bringing to light lost or hidden works from the past of these lands, and to discover emerging talent so that music, as ever, can continue to transcend all boundaries in the present, and into the future.