In November, one of Turkiye’s coolest exports, Islandman, will be returning to London to play Camden’s Koko as part of their European tour. Formed a decade ago, Islandman comprises of multi-instrumentalist and producer Tolga Böyük, Eralp Güven (percussion) and Erdem Başer (guitars). The three-piece underground band have gained an international following with their eclectic, otherworldly […]
Musically impossible to pigeon-hole, Lalalar’s sound is a futuristic mash-up straddling punk rock, Anatolian psychedelic funk, and dirty electronic beats. Iggy Pop is a fan, describing them as “Turkey’s most innovative alternative artists”. The band’s name is adapted from the Ottoman word ‘Lālā’ (meaning “wise man”), used to describe the teacher of Sultans. It’s an […]
Summer is here, and the sun is shining. Maybe you’re chilling on the beach in North Cyprus or Turkiye or Britain (yes, for a change, the UK is having a proper summer!)? Or perhaps your mood craves something altogether more lively? For those of you who enjoy exploring new sounds and indie artists, this is […]
Ironhand Records dig deep into their musical archives to present us with four outstanding tracks from Mustafa Kuş and his band İmece. These classic tracks are a fine, nostalgic blend of jazz, psychedelic funk and classic Anatolian rhythms. Turkish singer-songwriter Mustafa Kuş (top, far left) had originally gone to Germany to further his education. He […]
On their debut album ‘On’ (Bongo Joe Records), Altın Gün showed what happens when you open doors between Turkish folk songs on the one hand and a dirty blend of funk rhythms, wah-wah guitars and analogue organs on the other. The Amsterdammers who come from various backgrounds (Turkish, but also Indonesian and Dutch), comfortably create […]
UPDATED, Aug 2019: concert postponed to February 2020 Okay Temiz is a musical icon who has been at the forefront of multi-cultural music, blending European instruments with their Turkish counterparts to create a unique joyful synthesis of the two. This summer, he brings his awesome sounds to London. Born in Istanbul in 1939, Temiz […]
A pioneer of rock music in Turkey and one of the founders of the Anatolian rock genre, Barış Manço is the best-selling, most awarded and most influential Turkish artist of all time. As a recording artist, Manço’s songs were translated into multiple languages including English, French, German, Japanese, Greek, Italian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Hebrew, Urdu and […]
One of the main faces of London’s underground Turkish psychedelic folk scene, Djanan Turan is undergoing a musical reinvention. Fans attending Friday’s concert at the Jazz Café, where the singer-songwriter shares the bill with BaBa ZuLa (the kings of Istanbul psychedelia), will be able to listen to Djanan’s new musical direction, an altogether mellower and […]
On Friday, 17 November, Islington’s Gracepoint will be hosting Ceylan Ertem –Turkey’s answer to Tori Amos. The 36-year-old left-leaning singer-songwriter is known for effortlessly strutting musical genres in songs that address various social issues, from Gezi to the conflict in southeast Turkey, during a career that’s spanned nearly two decades. A graduate of the Mujdat […]
