Six years ago, London staged a tribute night to Barış Manço – one of Turkiye’s greatest artists – where some of the capital’s leading musicians performed a selection of his greatest hits.

The sell-out event at the Jazz Café proved the enduring appeal of Manço, who sadly died of a heart attack in 1999 aged 56. The Psychedelic World of Barış Manço has since become an annual event in London.

Manço was one of the godfathers of Anatolian Rock, creating a timeless body of work that ranged from folk-tinged ballads to feelgood psychedelic rock anthems, which found an audience far beyond the borders of Turkiye.

Helping the musical legacy of this incredible artist to be passed on to new generations is singer-songwriter Djanan Turan, who is the brainchild behind The Psychedelic World of Barış Manço. The event returns to the Jazz Café later this month.

T-VINE talked to Djanan about the special night that she has created in tribute to the legendary Barış Manço, and how his musical fusion of world and Anatolian rhythms is attracting an increasingly diverse audience.

How did The Psychedelic World of Barış Manço tribute night come about?

The first time we did the gig in 2018, we really did not know how much interest there was going to be from people. I just knew that although Barış Manço’s music is very much loved and very important for us, you rarely go to a gig and hear Barış Manço songs being covered. I don’t really know why.

His songs seem to have their own special vibe and space that you don’t just throw them in any setlist. I am a musician who creates various missions for myself and gets quite dedicated to delivering them, and a Barış Manço tribute was one of them that I had in my head for a long while.

“10 very young British boys celebrating a birthday…checked out some songs beforehand and that’s it, there they were, enjoying themselves like Barış Manço superfans”

Now, after having been invited by The Jazz Cafe for the 4th time around to do this tribute night, me and the band were all aware that just the idea that there is a night fully dedicated to Barış Manço’s music gets people of all generations excited.

The hype was there the minute the gig was advertised and we always had a full house. Therefore, we now feel even more responsibility to deliver a good show.

Tell us about the eclectic group of musicians and artists that take part in the tribute night

All the musicians who play, some of whom are Turkish, are brilliant in their own right. Last year the performers were Elizabeth Nott on percussions, Alice Mary Williamson on clarinet, Tansay Omar on drums, Taha Turan on bass, Jomy Jai on keys and Berdin Pamukcu on guitar, who are all part of the Flying Karpet Collective. Benja Brozel provided the live visuals. Our guests were Çiğdem Aslan and Didor.

This year, joining myself on stage will again be The Flying Karpet: Tansay Omar, Taha Turan, Jomy Jai, and Berdin Pamukcu. They have become the house band for this event. We will have Bubu on percussion and some surprise guests.

In between the live music, we have the fabulous DJ Burak Çetindağ on the decks providing an eclectic mix of 60s, 70s, and early 80s Anatolian psychedelic rock, funk and jazz classics.

To those who’ve never been, how would you describe The Psychedelic World of Barış Manço?

Every year, we try to add a few new songs that we have not yet covered – mind you, though, Barış Manço has endless amounts of music, so choosing which tracks to play is very difficult.

We invite guests and, for the last couple of times we also had visuals to enhance the experience.

So, this last show [in 2023] as well, was very exciting. There was a lot of love, a lot of singing together, a very cosy and supportive vibe. I must say again thank you to all the team and everyone who was there.

And at the end of the show, the whole crowd was shouting ‘eşek‘ for the encore song, his good old classic that is written from the mouth of a boy who is missing his village, to his friend the donkey.

This was a terrific experience for me because it’s literally a one off occasion that you will have a whole crowd yelling ‘donkey’ at your face and you are actually feeling good about it :))

Are you surprised by the large non-Turkish crowd that attends the event?

Although I am always aware that his music is followed internationally, I must say, it also surprises me to see a very international crowd at the gigs.

This time [January 2023] there were even more people who did not speak Turkish and following the gig. I received comments directly from some of those people about how much they enjoyed the gig.

It is proof that Barış Manço has created timeless music that transfers emotions beyond lyrics. He blended the world’s musical trends perfectly with the sonic treasures of Anatolia to make something that is exciting, new, but also somehow accessible and warm to people.

I also say this because the crowd [at The Psychedelic World of Barış Manço] never felt to me as if part of the people were there to just hear something interesting. The audience always feels very unified and present.

Last year, we had 10 very young British boys celebrating a birthday, dancing like crazy and asking us to play ‘Nick The Chopper’ between every song. One of them emailed me afterwards that they saw the gig and thought this could be something cool to do. They checked out some songs beforehand and that’s it, there they were, enjoying themselves like Barış Manço superfans.

I also want to tell each and every person there to go ahead and study his lyrics. You don’t always get such music with such idiosyncratic use of the language.

Click here for tickets and more information about this year’s The Psychedelic World of Barış Manço, which takes place at London’s Jazz Café on 18 January 2024.

Photos above from The Psychedelic World of Barış Manço, Jazz Cafe, London, 12 Jan. 2023 reproduced with kind permission from Richard Lipman.