Elektronik Türküler

Released

If Erin Koray is the Godfather of Anatolian rock, this is his masterpiece. His second album (although his 1973 debut was just a collection of singles) translates as “‘Electronic Ballads” and blends traditional Anatolian tunes with psychedelic guitars, heavy bass and percussion, and traditional instruments such as the bağlama, zurna, and ney flute. “Elektronik Türküler” is an exhilarating trip through a colorful, LCD-tinged Anatolian universe, and is still considered the template for Anatolian psych rock. 

Megan Iacobini de Fazio

Psychedelic rock was already associated with Eastern and Middle Eastern sounds, so it tracks that somebody actually from the region would perfect the synthesis. The bulk of the songs on Elektronik Türküler were based on traditional Turkish folk melodies but Erkin Koray plugged them in and transformed them into dark trips through his soul. His own composition, “Türkü,” proves the highlight as it weaves through nine stunning minutes of guitar fuzz and hypnotic zurna under Koray’s droning recitation of a work by activist poet Nazım Hikmet.

Jeff Treppel

Suggestions
Argus cover

Argus

Wishbone Ash
Lost Themes cover

Lost Themes

John Carpenter
The Evil One cover

The Evil One

Roky Erickson
Selda cover

Selda

Selda Bağcan
Empath cover

Empath

Devin Townsend
Phallus Dei cover

Phallus Dei

Amon Düül II
Dünden Bugüne cover

Dünden Bugüne

Ersen ve Dadaşlar
S.F. Sorrow cover

S.F. Sorrow

The Pretty Things