Garip

Since bursting onto the scene in 2018 with their debut album, On, Amsterdam-based Altın Gün have been at the vanguard of the 21st century revival of Turkish-influenced psychedelic grooves.Coming straight out of the gate with a wah-wah and organ heavy sound that effortlessly captured the spirit of Anatolian 70s psych-funk masters like Bariş Manço and Erkin Koray, they deepened and expanded their palette with 2021’s Yol, which brought synths and drum machines into the mix for a more 80s-influenced dream-pop vibe.But no matter how far out they’ve gone, they’ve always maintained a strong link to the same Anatolian folk traditions that inspired those early pioneers. Founder and bassist, Jasper Verhulst says: “We’re doing the same thing a lot of those artists were doing, which is playing Turkish traditionals and songs written by folk artists.”Now, with their sixth album, Garip, they’ve brought that connection to the folk source front and centre, showcasing a collection of songs all originally written by Turkish folk legend Neşet Ertaş.Ertaş (1938-2012) was a revered and much-loved Turkish singer, lyricist and bağlama player, and a modern-day embodiment of the ancient ashik tradition of the folk-bard-troubadour. Throughout his long career, he recorded more than 30 albums and wrote hundreds of songs – some of which were famously recorded by the likes of Bariş Manço and Selda Bağcan.