10 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
F
ORa musician,inspirationcanstrikeatany
time.Butwhenyou’reina bandthatonly
playsTurkishpopstandardsfromthe20th
century,youhavetomakeyourownluck.“Iwas
ina Turkishgrocerystoreonceandhearda song
andthought,‘Hmm,thatcouldbenicetoplay,’”
saysJasperVerhulstofAltınGün,a Dutch-Turkish
six-piecefromAmsterdamwhosepsyched-up
takeonoldAnatolianfolkandpopis reaping
sizabledividendsaroundtheworld.“IShazamed
it,butintheendwedidn’tplayit.”
Verhulst,a bassistwhohasplayedwithJacco
Gardneramongothers,formedAltınGünless
thanthreeyearsagoasanoutletforhisloveof
Turkishfunk,a millennialaffairfuelledby
YouTubediscoveries,Spotifyplaylistsand
reissuesoflong-lostalbumsbyintrepid
labelssuchasFindersKeepers.Now,
alongsidethelikesofKitSebastian,
AnatolianWeaponsandGrupSes,not
tomentionlong-standingIstanbul
outfitBabaZula,AltınGünareat
thevanguardofa living,breathing
Turkishpsych-rockrevival.
ForVerhulst,theattractiontothis
typeofmusicwasinstant.“Because
oftheuseofquarternotes,the
melodiesaredifferenttoWestern
Europeanmelodiesandchord
changes.If youcombinethatwith
psychedelicmusicfromthe’70s,it’s
reallynicebecausethosemelodies
alreadysoundexotictomyears.”
Ontheirtwostudioalbums,last
year’sOnandthemorerecentGece,
Altın Gün (whose name means Golden
Day)offerinspiredversionsofhouseholdstaples
bythelikesofSeldaBaǧcanandErkinKoray.“The
peopleinTurkeyknowthesongsbutarestillreally
surprisedbyhowweplaythem,”saysVerhulst.
“Mymumcan’tbelieveI’mdoingthiswithold
Turkishsongsthatshealsogrewupwith,”adds
MerveDasdemir,oneofthegroup’stwoTurkish
singers.ShemovedtoAmsterdamfromIstanbul
fiveyearsagoandwasthefirstpersontoanswer
Verhulst’sFacebookpostlookingforband
members,closelyfollowedbyErdincEcevet,who
alsosingsandplaysthesaz,a traditionalthree-
stringedinstrument.Theyhitit offimmediately.
“Nothingshouldbethiseasy,”saysDasdemir.
“Wecametogetherina magicalway.”
Apartfromoneimprov-stylejamonGece,
AltınGünareinnorushtostartwritingtheirown
material,particularlywhenthere’ssucha deep
welltodrawfromforfuturereleases.What’s
mostintriguingabouttheband’ssuccessis that
theysingthesesongsintheoriginallanguage,
meaningthata a decentpercentageoftheir
audiencehasnoideawhatthesongs
areabout.“InNorthAmericawe
haven’tseenmanyTurkishpeople
attheshows,althoughinthe
NetherlandsandGermanythereare
bigTurkishcommunitiesand 30 to 40
percentofouraudienceis Turkish,”
saysVerhulst.Theyhavenoplansto
translatethelyricsintoEnglish.“In
Turkishthereare 40 differentwords
forsadness,”pointsoutDasdemir,“so
howareyougonnatranslateit?People
getfrustratedandI say,really,there’s
nowaytotranslateit andmakeit as
poeticasit alreadyis.” PIERS MARTIN
Geceis outnowonGlitterbeat;
AltınGünplayLondon’s XOYO
on September 11
Altın Gün
AltınGün:
“Wecame
togetherin a
magical way”
Inspired,psychedelic
interpretersofold
Anatolian pop songs
BIGTHIEF
TwoHands4AD
Whenyou’rehot,you’re
hot:justa fewmonthsafter
thesensuousUFOFcomes
thisrawer,punchierset,
culminatingin anunusually
seethingguitarsolo on “Not”.
IGGYPOP
“WeAreThePeople”CAROLINEINTERNATIONAL
Fromthesparseandsombrenew
album,Free, anemotionalreadingof
LouReed’spoem,asrelevantnowas
it wasin 1971:“Wearetheinsects of
someoneelse’sthought...”
RICHARDDAWSON 2020 DOMINO
Eccentric,homespunsymphonicrock
withsocial-realistnarrativesabout
fulfilmentcentres,floodedpubsand
slacknear-postmarking.Like“Bohemian
Rhapsody”scriptedbyKenLoach.
RONINARKESTRA
SonkeiALBERT’SFAVOURITES
LushJapanesecosmic
jazz,inspiredbyananime
seriesaboutthesearchfor
a samuraiwhosmellsof
sunflower.Kawaii!
LIGHTNINGDUST
SpectreWESTERNVINYL
BlackMountainrefugeesAmberWebber
andJoshWellschannelthebohorock
spiritoftheAirplaneandtheMac,
withthehelpofStephenMalkmus and
Destroyer’sDanBejar.
BANTOUMENTALE
MentaleBantouG LIT TE R B E AT
KinshasadoesXTRMNTR: scorching
Afro-electro-rockfromex-membersof
MbongwanaStarand Konono No 1.
LINDSTRØM
OnA ClearDayI CanSeeYou
ForeverSMALLTOWNSUPERSOUND
Spacediscodoyenjettisonsthebeats
fora setofcraggyanaloguesynth
escapades,inspired by Matching Mole
andopera.
MALEEMMAHMOUDGHANIA
WITHPHAROAHSANDERS
TheTranceOfSevenColorsZEHRA
Exhilarating 1994 Afro-jazzsummitgets
a firstairingonvinyl.Intenselypercussive
Gnawa ritual,withadded spiritual sax.
DIIV
DeceiverCAPTUREDTRACKS
TheAmericanshoegaze
revivalistshaveprogressed
fromapingRideto...aping
MyBloodyValentine.Buthey,
we’renotcomplaining.
BLACKCOUNTRYNEW ROAD
“Sunglasses”
SPEEDYWUNDERGROUND/BLANKEDITIONS
Hilariousandterrifyingnine-minute
Grinderman-esquetiradeaboutthe
tyrannyofcoolandothermodern
psychoses:“I wishallmykidswould stop
dressing up like Richard Hell”...
UNCUTPLAYLIST
On the stereo this month...
WE’RE
NEW
HERE
“Theyareone
ofthegrooviest
actsontheroad
thesedays.I take
everychanceto
catchthemlive–
it’sa greattime
guaranteed”
JulienBarbagallo,
Tame Impala
I’M YOUR FAN
SANJA MARUSIC; AL PEREIRA/WIREIMAGE
