Born in Sakarya Ceylan Ertem moved to Istanbul in 1999 to proceed her music education and to take a one year of voice training from Akademi Istanbul. Then she proceeded her education in the Western Music department of Müjdat Gezen Art Centre. In 2000 she founded the band Anima with Tunçay Korkmaz. In the year 2004 she took Musicology training in the Sensory Arts department of the Arts and Design Faculty of Yıldız Technical University. In August 2005 the recordings of the album “Animasal” and the album was released with the label of Sony-BMG in February 2006. The band gave many concerts in various cities of Turkey. With the band Anima Ertem recorded the soundtrack of Handan İpekçi’s film Saklı Yüzler in Baykuş Studios. After the band broke up towards the end of 2007, Ertem began a radio programme called “Şubidap” in Açık Radyo, one of the most remarkable radio stations in Turkey. The programme which she prepared and anchored herself was broadcasted for 26 weeks. In this process a new period of productivity began for Ceylan Ertem during which she found the ooportunity to perform with various music bands. The bands which she performed with include The Ways (founded by Şenol Küçükyıldırım and performed in many festivals and venues in Istanbul, the band is the one which has most broadened Ertem’s horizon on improvisation); Octophone (a jazz project founded by Philipp Gropper and Wanja Slavin in 2008 in Berlin. In the same year the band gave many concerts in various clubs of Berlin); Kpar Kpoh Knah (taking its name from an African lullaby the band begins its performance with the very lullaby and ends it with the sayings of an ancient minstrel. The band has performed in many prestigious Istanbul venues such as Dogzstar and Peyote. The compositions of the band have been recorded fort he solo album of Ceylan Ertem).
The first solo album of Ertem, “Soluk” (Breath) has been recorded and released in 2010. In the album more than forty musicians took part. The first video clip of the album was shot by Gökçen Dilek Acay for the song “İnsandık” (We were Human) and the second was shot by the inclined director, Dağhan İş for the song "Gidip Dinlenmeliyim” (I Must Go and Take a Rest). Subsequently the video clip “Çok Yakın” (Too Close) the scenario of which belongs to Ertem has again been shot by Dağhan İş. The clip has been selected for the prestigious Istanbul Independent Films Festival !F. In January 2011 another video has been shot by Dağhan İş for the song “Nazım’a” (To Nazım) and the clip has been devoted to the precious poet Nazım Hikmet and the two meritorious journalists who fell victim to hatred klling, Hrant Dink and Uğur Mumcu. The last video clip of the album has been shot for the song “Sombahar” (Pure Autumn).
In the year 2010 Ceylan Ertem went on tour in Netherlands with the Dutch New World Jazz band Barana as parts of the Project called “Xenopolis”. Ertem was again invited to Netherlands the other year for a second tour that was arranged with the purpose of producing an album out of it. The second tour was met with great interest and the project was decided to proceed with a third tour in Turkey in October 2012. Ertem has begun to broadcast the first demo records of the music/research programme “Cadı Avı” in the address vimeo/cadiavi.
Ceylan Ertem is nowadays working on her second solo album, while pursuing the Soluk and Sezen Aksu Tribute concerts.