Saadet Türköz is an international treasure. Born to Kazakh and Turkish parents in Istanbul in 1961, she has developed a style that comfortably blends Central Asian traditional music with free jazz. A very pleasant listen.
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No reviews today as I will be out and about, so I leave you with a haunting instrumental track by the Turkish band Yabancılar.
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Sanr is a project out of Turkey who has released an album so drone-laden and so darkly ambient that it would have fit perfectly between a collection of Cold Meat Industry records and the Terminator 2 soundtrack. It’s heavy, foreboding and magnificent listening if you like a horror vibe.
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For my friends in the West, today is Good Friday, and I wish you a wonderful, blessed and prosperous Paschal celebration. I send you a gift in the form of the ensemble DÜNYA offering Christian and Islamic chants in celebration of Holy Weekend and Easter.
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The earthquake which has ravaged Turkey and Syria should not be forgotten about despite the blindingly fast news barrage we’re living through. The Swiss label Bongo Joe have offered this pay-what-you-like compilation featuring Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, Oldu O Zaman and Altın Gün, who have graciously given tracks to help this noble cause. Personally, if you would like to send more funds to Syria as well, consider using International Orthodox Christian Charities who have boots on the ground in the area.
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Don’t let the cover fool you – Grup Doğuş produce great Andalou music! The band hails from Germany but have Turkish roots, and bring the wild sound of Anatolian Rock and meld it to surf music, psychedelic rock and Hammond organ vibes.
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Turkish-American composer Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol directs Schola Cantorum, Ensemble Trinitas, The New England Mehterhane and five different DÜNYA ensembles in a sumptuous history of Istanbul/Constantinople via music from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.
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We at MYNTH are elated that our friends at WeWantSounds have another spicy platter on offer from their label. This one comes to us from the Marseille-based band Biensüre. From the label’s press release: Biensüre’s influences are varied and transcend generations and borders. Ranging from the Anatolian pop scene of the 70s and 80s with key figures like Erkin Koray and Barış Manço to 70s Jazz, Disco and early electro, their music is at the intersection of several musical continents. Obviously, Hakan’s close connection to traditional Kurdish music is at the heart of the group’s music, embraced by all the other…
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Moğollar were, arguably, the founders of the Anatolian Rock scene in Turkey during the 1960s and 1970s. Thanks to glorious reissue programs like this one done by, I believe, Gulbaba Records, you can hear mellow, fuzzy and Beatlesque Andalou music lovingly remastered. A gem of an album.
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What a charmingly weird discovery this is! Yiğit Bülbül is a London-based musician whose roots are in Turkey, and this mini-album combines the experimentation of artists like Holger Czukay with the dulcet sounds of Serge Gainsbourg’s backing band in their calmer moments. A surreal release this one…