Türkiye - Istanbul Part II

 We continue our exploration of Istanbul with one of the pioneers of Anatolian Rock, the band Moğollar (The Mongols).  They started of in 1968 blending Turkish folk with western rock and psychedelia.  They quickly gained a big following internationally and drew comparison with Pink Floyd.  For a while Cem Karaca was a member as soloist.  They disbanded in 1976, but reformed in 1993 and are still going to this day.  With the recent revival in Anatolian rock, some of their albums have recently been reissued, such as their 1976 self-titled album.  Here's the opening track called Katip Arzuhalim Yaz Yare Böyle:

Carrying the torch of modern Anatolian psych rock with a real vintage feel is Istanbul native Umut Adan.  Now based in Italy, some of his songs contain criticism of his homeland.  He has only had one international release so far his 2019 album Bahar (Spring).  Here is a track from it called Şeytanın Aklını Çeldim:

The A.G.A Trio a Trans-caucasian/Anatolian collaboration between 3 musicians from Armenia, Georgia and Turkey (the name standing for Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia), the Turkish contribution being from Deniz Mahir Kartal, a kaval player from Istanbul.  The other two are Mikhail Yakut from Turkey, but of Georgian descent on accordion and Armenian Arsen Petrosyan on duduk.  They play on the similarities of their respective regions, whilst inventing their own soundscape.  In this tune from their 2024 album Araxes (named after a river in the Caucasus) they play a dance tune common in all 3 regions, but under different names: Shalakho / Kintauri / Karabağ:

Derya Türkan, born in Istabul in 1973, is a master of the classical Turkish kemençe, a 3-stringed bowed fiddle played upright on the knee.  There are various versions of the instrument throughout the region, including in Greece where it is known as the politiki lyra.  He has collaborated with many different acts, including Greek lyra player Sokratis Sinopoulos, exploring the similarities of their cultures.  They released an album in 2020 called Soundplaces, in which they take listeners on a journey through different places between Greece and Turkey, which have a shared history. Sadly none of the tunes from the album are available on YouTube, so here is another tune of theirs from their 2001 album Letters from Istanbul called Uşşak Şarkı:

Kardeş Türküler are a large folk band founded in 1993 at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul.  They incorporate influences from all over the region including Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian and Alevian.  Here's a song from their 2017 album Yol called Halâlê:

Another kemençe player from Istanbul is young Melisa Yildirim.  She grew up in a family from the Alevi branch of Islam.  She collaborates with a wide variety of musicians from around the world, influenced by Sufi music, Anatolian folk as well as Iranian genres and contemporary music.  One of her collaborations is with Israeli guitarist Gilad Weiss, with whom she recorded their 2021 album Talûş (Link: null).  This tune, Seven Lakes, does not feature on the album, but gives a flavour of their beautifully relaxing style:

We'll leave it at that for today.  As usual you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.