Gateway to Distortion Anatolian rock fused Turkish folk with fuzz text Brion Paul images courtesy of Mahssa Taghinia and Brion Paul
Isiklar and Cahit Oben. But it was with the embrace of traditional instruments like the saz and oud (stringed and lute-like with a be- witching twang) and reconfiguring classic Anatolian folk songs in a Western rock and funk framework that the scene took on a mind- expanding distinction all its own. Still surprisingly modern sounding, with a heavy emphasis on galloping rhythm and reverbed vocals, melded with distinctive in- strumentation aided and abetted by Turkey’s geographic passageway to the Middle East, the gems are difficult to track down, usually only existing on 45s of varying sound quality and obscure Turkish compilations. Here’s a guide to five of the major Anatolian pop/rock players most comp’d, and worth searching out.
Before NAFTA, free trade, and globalization, there was, the fuzz . Ahh, yes, that scorching heat of overloaded guitar lines, emanat- ing deep from within the waxy confines of a 45 RPM record, the hall bearer of the most ferocious of psych rock, the hash-coated shot heard round the world. While myriad continents and cultures churned out their fair share of imitative psych records, perhaps no other country fused this new energy, experimentation, and instru- mentation with the traditions and culture of their own as immacu- lately as the great nation of Turkey with its “Anadolu pop” (also known as Anatolian pop or rock). The sound originated in Turkey’s surf-influenced beat scene, as ignited by the arrival of the Shadows, and spurring bands like Mavi
Ersen Recently the subject of a generous compilation from Finders Keepers—not to mention the buzz-inducing soundtrack to a major U.K. commercial—Ersen’s silken voice glides swimmingly over particularly hearty breakbeats, made all the more dramatic by his trademark panting vocalizations. While many others from the Anatolian rock scene injected politics into their music à la Brazil’s tropicalia movement, Ersen’s distinctive voice and heavy rhythms remained apolitical and committed to rock.
Starting out as beat band the Mongols, Moğollar released instrumental records on their own, in addition to working with some of the biggest vocalists of the scene—Ersen, Selda, Barış Manço, Cem Karaca—and cultivating a reputation for killer live shows. Their melding of traditional music and forward-thinking psych is often credited with starting Anatolian pop.
Barış Manço was a larger-than-life Turkish musical legend, fortified by a sprawling moustache of utmost awesomeness and forty years of involvement in music, responsible for records across all genres—beat, garage, fuzz-drenched psych, and disco. In 1975, he released his proggy, synthesizer-soaked masterpiece concept al- bum 2023 , an utter classic worth killing for.
Erkin Koray Erkin Koray was another formidable legend owing to his devastating prowess on the guitar and the literal East- West fusion that was his ferocious custom double-necked guitar and saz combo. He has a massive discography that includes the sought-after landmark Elektronik Türküler album, in addition to a battery of 45s featuring arguably the most acid-soaked sleeves of the era. Selda With a singular and spine-chillingly affective voice, Selda started out as a politically charged folksinger. In the 1970s, with Moğollar and other Anadolu rock bands backing her, she made some seriously forward- thinking music drenched in fuzz and brandishing synthesizers aplenty. Finders Keepers’ reissue, Selda , is the best place to start. .
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