XX cover
Released

The political turmoil and violence of the late 1970s and the coup of 1980 all but stifled Turkey’s vibrant rock scene. Decades later bands like Altin Gün and Grup Şimşek would pick up the reins, but first among the all were Baba Zula, who were founded in 1996 by electric saz player Osman Murat Ertel and percussionist Levent Akman (previously of Zen). Picking up where Anatolian psych pioneers like Moğollar or Erkin Koray left off, they incorporated even more influences into their sound, from dark electronics to Krautrock and of course Turkish folk. XX is a 20 year retrospective that includes reinterpretations or live versions rather than the originals, and comes with some deliciously deep, spacey dub versions.

Megan Iacobini de Fazio

Recommended by

Suggestions
Running Through Walls cover

Running Through Walls

Jah Sun, The Rising Tide
Drink cover

Drink

Victor Rice
Tales From The Grand Bazaar cover

Tales From The Grand Bazaar

Bombay Dub Orchestra
Umoja cover

Umoja

Skinshape
Secret Rhythms 5 cover

Secret Rhythms 5

Jaki Liebezeit, Burnt Friedman
Masterpiece cover

Masterpiece

Glen Washington
Tala Matrix cover

Tala Matrix

Tabla Beat Science
Subculture cover

Subculture

The Selecter
Caught You cover

Caught You

Steel Pulse