turkish-music

On April 26, Altin Gün will release their sophomore album Gece, which follows their 2017 debut record On. The band is sharing a new track from the album, called “Süpürgesi Yoncadan” alongside an animated lyric video today. Th song is about “falling for someone unexpectedly, crying and suffering over love.” Gece is available for pre-order alongside a limited edition 7″ of “Süpürgesi Yoncadan”; both are available HERE. Altin Gün will tour the US for the first time this summer including appearing at Pickathon, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Brooklyn NY’s Rough Trade, Chicago’s Lincoln Hall, DC’s Rock & Roll Hotel, and LA’s Teragram Ballroom.

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Altin Gün was inspired by founder and bass player Jasper Verhulst’s deep passion for Turkish folk and psychedelia. “The songs come out of a long tradition. This is music that tries to be a voice for a lot of other people,” he explains. Following their 2018 debut album On, Altin Gün returns with their sophomore album Gece on April 26 via ATO. The new record firmly establishes the band as masterful interpreters of the Anatolian rock and folk legacy, and as a leading voice in the emergent global psych scene.

While most of the material they present has been a familiar part of Turkish life for many years – some of it associated with the late national icon Neset Ertas – it’s never been interpreted like this before. This music is electric Turkish history, shot through with a heady buzz of 21st century intensity, filled with funk-like grooves and explosive psychedelic textures.

“We do have a weak spot for the music of the late ’60s and ’70s,” Verhulst admits. “With all the instruments and effects that arrived then, it was an exciting time. Everything was new, and it still feels fresh. We’re not trying to copy it, but these are the sounds we like and we’re trying to make them our own.”

And what they create really is their own. Altin Gün radically reimagine an entire tradition. The electric saz (a three-string Turkish lute) and voice of Erdinç Ecevit is urgent and immediately distinctive, while keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, and percussion power the surging rhythms and Merve Dasdemir sings with the mesmerizing power of a young Grace Slick.

Altın Gün (the name translates as “golden day”) formed in the Netherlands and grew from Verhulst’s obsession with Turkish music. He had been aware of it for some time but a trip to Istanbul while playing in another band gave him the chance to discover so much more. But Verhulst wasn’t content to just listen, he had a vision for what the music could be – and Altın Gün was born.

He explains, “None of this music is widely available in the Netherlands. Of course, since our singers are Turkish, they know many of these pieces. All this is part of the country’s musical past, their heritage, like ‘House of The Rising Sun’ is in America.” As Verhulst has delved into Turkish music, he’s continued to seek new songs that grab his ear. “Most of these songs have had hundreds of different interpretations over the years. I’m listening for something we can change and make into our own.  We need something that will make people stop and listen, as if it’s the first time they’ve heard it.”