While it is true that young people in Turkey are getting clued in on their 70s Anadolu psyche heritage through international acts like Altin Gün (if the Westerners like it, then it must be good), one has the sense that Lalalar’s sound may be closer to the hearts of young western-leaning Istanbulus. “Lala,” Ali Güçlü Şimşek, explains, is “the wise man, the ...
There are two Turkish worlds in Germany today. The first – the world of the old Turkish Gastarbeiter, ex-guest-workers who came to fuel the German Wirtschaftswunder, and who, for whatever reason, never left. They congregate in enigmatic, featureless Turkish social clubs and cafes, sipping tea and playing tavla (backgammon) while rehashing the politics of exile under framed portraits of Atatürk or Erdoğan ...
Altın Gün have a new musical direction. Just as we were getting used to their flanged-out, groove-charged restylings of Anatolian rock and folk numbers , the Dutch sextet has taken a radically new tack, injecting a heavy dose of European electronica into their revamped Turkish covers. The most compelling track is “Ordunun Dereleri” (“The mountain streams of Ordu”) a sad Black ...
Moğollar – the Mongols – were the original Anatolian rockers and coiners of the term “Anatolian Pop”. Back in the late sixties and seventies when Americans and Europeans followed the hippy trail east through Turkey, Afghanistan to India, Moğollar was the first Turkish act on the scene to hew out a place for itself blending Anatolian folk elements with Western psychedelia,in ...
Arşivplak (45 mins) **** Arşivplak, meaning “records from the archives” has come out with an eleven track instrumental compilation of popular Anatolian psyche tracks, mainly from the seventies, that will be a welcome addition in any Anatolian rock dance-floor set. The tunes are disco-delightful reimaginings of old Turkish chestnuts, put through the stylistic blender, with moog organ effects, wah guitar, funky ...