Turkish modern cds

East 2 West Turkish modern
This appears to be the first part of a series of Turkish pop-fusion
compilation cds. Jazz, blues, hip hop, and funk make appearances, but
primarily the album is “mixed pop” with a (mostly!) laid-back feel. Some of the phrases and
melodies are extremely catchy. Some of the musicianship is first-rate (Laco Tayfa, Burhan Ocal),
and all of the tracks are effective. The compilation well represents a number of genres and styles,
entirely modern. Only one or two songs are suitable for Raks Sharki. I highly recommend this
album to anyone interested in sampling modern Turkish music.
Overall: Great
Danceability: Fusion only
Drum use: Not significant

East2West: Istanbul Strait Up Turkish modern
This is my favorite of the East2West series simply because it contains the highest percentage of
memorable pieces. The one hip hop track (Ceza) is catchy, the four minute clarinet taksim (Husnu
Selendirici) is beautiful, and the electronic pop fused with folkloric 9/8 (Burhan Ocal, Pete Namlook)
is highly effective, with excellent musical sense and transitions. To me, the most gripping track is a
fairly simple, fast-tempo, extremely intense electronic laz (7/8) with elegant fiddle taksim (DuOud).
The album is a compilation of various pop, light jazz, and electronica styles, well informed by
traditional Turkish music. The overall feeling is serious, either intent or pensive. This album is a
first-rate jumping off point for anyone seriously interested in modern Turkish music.
Overall: Excellent
Danceability: Moderate
Drum use: Not significant

Electric Gypsyland Turkish electronic
An interesting album. The album is a compilation, but the sound is quite cohesive, with
mainly similar instrumentation and feel. A few tracks stand out: A la Turk is a straight
ahead Turkish techno piece, and Cind Eram la ’48 (Chronicle of a Peasant Uprising) is an
extremely intense drum set and melissmatic vocal meditation. Other tracks vary in terms
of quality and effectively capturing the mood. The album seems to be an exploration of
repetition. The rhythms are mainly driving and simple. Most of the melodic phrases
repeat frequently and so constitute discrete blocks of sound. The blocks are arranged
effectively, combined with shifts in rhythm or instrumental complement, to produce
variations on a single theme within each track. Instruments include drum set, bass,
darbouka, fiddle, shakers, accordion, and electric guitar. A funky brass section appears
on several tracks. The mood varies from intent to transcendant, laid-back to cheerful.
The album is trance music without ever becoming boring.
Overall: Great
Danceability: Minimal
Drum use: Not significant

Balkanatolia
This is one of the weirdest albums I’ve ever owned. Not “weird” as in bad, but simply:
what the heck are these tracks doing in the same album together??? A few tracks are
Turkish jazz fusion with wacky brass baselines, somewhere between funky cool and
cheezy. Other tracks are straight ahead Turkish folk, Anatolian or Balkan traditional
songs, or driving laz. Some tracks completely befuddled my ethnomusicalogical skills:
there are tabla, tombak, kanjira,and some kind of clay drum akin to udu, in addition to
zurna, nei, saz, davul, darbouka, doira, accordion, clarinet, fiddle, and some kind of
bagpipe. The majority of songs on this album are in 7/8, 9/8, or 10/8 time. Don’t buy
this album if you want Raks Sharki music. Buy this album to explore music, hear
something completely different, and realize that Turkey really is a crazy crossroads of
Balto-slavic, Caucaus, Indo-iranic, Arabic, and Altaic cultures – with a solid helping of
jazz as well.
Overall: Good
Danceability: Turkish folkloric and fusion only
Drum use: Great

Anadolu Atesi
A very difficult album to put one’s finger on. Highly dramatic with a rich, full sound, and extreme
shifts in tempo and style. Unmistakably Turkish instrumentation and rhythms (including a few 9’s
and a 10/8). The tracks share little in common beyond those descriptions. At times resembling
disco, movie soundtrack, techno, old school Romani, pop, or military music. Pushing various
musical conventions in seemingly random directions, sometimes to excellent effect: one track made
it both to my regular dance routine and my favorites-of-Turkey compilation. And yet, with more
than a few of the tracks, I don’t know what they were thinking. Instruments include davul, zurna,
nei, kemenche, darbouka, riq, drum set, classical guitar, quite a lot of electronic effects, and various
ululations. I recommend this album for those who enjoy dramatic (sometimes melodramatic) music,
and bizarre albums.
Overall: Good (highly variable!)
Danceability: Moderate (highly variable!)
Drum use: Moderate

Made in Turkey: the World of Turkish Grooves
This is a two disc set, so forgive the length of the review.
Disc one contains several irresistable tacks, including: an extremely memorable, emotive and well-mixed
pop song (Fly); an insanely catchy funk fusion piece (Just Remember), a cute, Carnival-like pop song
(Bencil); the charming, traditional Balbul; and a stately Black Sea laz with powerful, operatic vocals
(Kaleden Inis M’Olur). The laid-back yet skilled piece “Don’t Cry My Love”, by the extremely popular
Omar Faruk Tekbilek, is typical of the album. Other interesting tracks include a kurdish semai 10/8
(Mhayyer-Kurdi Saz Semaisi by Burhan Ocal and the Istanbul Orient Ensemble), a world music groove
in sai’idi, a 12/8 piece, and Ronda Alla Turca. Ronda Alla Turca is a Turkish clarinet, kanun, violin, and
cello cover of Mozart’s piano concerto in A (a piece so ubiquitous and catchy that it is a popular cell phone ringtone and has
appeared on “The Simpsons”); this is ironic because Mozart originally wrote the piece in imitation of Turkish music. Disc two
contains a crazy funk love song to french fries (French Fries A la Turca); a powerfully-voiced, catchy maqsuum reying on drum
set, synthesizer, electric guitar, and riqq (Arapsaci); a reggae/funk/hip-hop piece enlivened by congas and zurna
(Reggaeturcatone); a pop mix of Derinoy by Ragga Oktay; the ridiculouly catchy funk Istanbul Twilight by the Brooklyn Funk
Essentials; and many additional catchy pop songs, driving techno pieces, and traditional grooves. Taken together, this set contains
so many must-haves that it is instantly worth purchasing. Additionally, there are very few “filler” tracks: almost everything stands
up. A variety of styles, almost all modern, are presented. Some tracks are danceable, but don’t buy this set in search of dance
material: other albums more easily adapt to dance, and this set has a better function. I cannot recommend this compilation enough
as an introduction to Turkish modern music in general and as a series of catchy grooves in particular.
Overall: Excellent
Danceability: Mainly fusion, a few excellent
Drum use: Darbouka not significant

Hammam Underground, turkish ethnic rhythm Turkish techno
Fast-paced techno, varying from dark and serious to light and playful. Darbouka, zils, bass, riq, and
synthesized drum set make up the rhythm section, with a very electronic feel on the first seven tracks
despite the presence of traditional instruments. Melodies are almost entirely electronic (accordion, nei,
and oud appear in karisik solo). Track 8, dumteke tek tek, is an extremely long drum solo,
well-composed for dancers, with deff, riq, zils, and solo darbouka. There is an open, slow portion
with just the darbouka. Tracks 9 and 10 also contain drum solos, mercifully shorter.
Overall: Good
Danceability: Moderate
Drum use: Good

Black Sea Burhan Ocal, Enver Izmailoe, Kara Deniz
This is one of the oddest albums I ever bought. By “odd” I simply mean that the sound is truly,
irreducibly bizarre. Track one is seven minutes of taksim, mainly saz and a touch of accordion. Then,
the song morphs into a crazy fast 9/8 that is straight-ahead traditional north Turkish. However, an
electric guitar plays back-up and eventually solos. By track two, an additional bizarreness is introduced
as the guitar adopts an effect that renders it akin to the theme music from “Super Mario Brothers.”
Burhan Ocal is one of the best drummers I have ever seen in my life, and for the majority of this album
he plays drum solo accompanied by a strange “Nintendo” guitar. Almost all of the tracks are in odd time
signatures. There’s nothing danceable on this album, and it’s not easy listening, so I can’t recommend
it either to dancers or to the general public. However, if you are intersted in drumming, this is a unique opportunity to hear
Burhan Ocal solo, and he is amazing. Also, the oddity of this album is a genuine thrill that reflects the bizarre wonder of human
existence. If you ever wanted to hear “the Legend of Zelda” in 5/4 with an out-of-control darbouka solo, this is probably the only
album ever for you. Actually, the guitar playing is quite good if you can get past the effects.
Overall: Odd
Danceability: Not
Drum use: Incredible

Kirklareli il Siniri, Burhan Ocal & Trakya All Stars
It took me six months to acquire this album, and it was worth the effort. This is a mixture of
electonica and traditional Turkish Romani music, and the traditional feel shines strongly through. The
most prominent instruments are davul, drum set, and zurna, followed by clarinet, faint kanun, saz,
and vocals. Electronic effects are mixed in to all tracks. Some of the tracks are in simple 4/4, but
ciftetelli and malfuf are distinctly clear, and three of the tracks are in 9/8 (three different forms and
three different tempos). Track one (Tekirdag Karsilamasi) is a juicy, ridiculously slow 9/8 karsilama
of raw Romani form, electronic but with a davul and zurna baseline. The vocal pieces are quite
catchy. The overall mood is generally serious and occasioanly dark, and the musicianship is precise
– there are no real solos. Changes are effective. Highly recommended for fusion.
Overall: Excellent
Danceability: Great, mainly fusion
Drum use: Great, but darbouka not significant

Couer de Lion, Tarkan Turkish pop singer
Tarkan is probably the most popular Turkish singer to the US audience. His most well-known song,
“Simarik” (“Kiss Kiss”), appears on this album in two variations. The album is highly electronic pop
with almost entirely western rhythms. Maqsum underlies “Basine Bela Olurum” and “Gul Doktum
Yollarina”. Drum set, bass, and keyboard power most tracks, with sparse use of acoustic guitar,
darbouka, oud, nei, riq, and kanun (often more like a special effect than as an instrument). Nice
stops and dramatic feeling recommend the album.
Overall: Good
Danceability: Good
Drum use: Not significant