Gaye Su Akyol - Hologram Ä°mparatorluÄŸu '2016

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Info for Hologram Ä°mparatorluÄŸu

Istanbul has a deep, layered history. From its beginnings as a fishing village
to one of the pillars of the Roman world. The final stop on the Silk Road. The
centre of the Ottoman Empire as the Turks spread their huge net across the
Middle East. Across the centuries the city drew in cultures and blended them.
Growing up there, singer-songwriter Gaye Su Akyol breathed all that in every
day, along with her family’s ancient roots in Anatolia. Those rich
traditions combine to form part of the sound she’s developed on her album
Hologram Ĭmparatorluğu (Hologram Empire), where sultry Turkish melodies
twine around spiky, twanging guitars and insistent rhythms. 

“It’s a cliché, but the city is a bridge that combines cultures,
and that’s very true in music, especially the Greek influence,”
Akyol explains. “When I was young, we visited Anatolia every year. I had
the chance to observe and realise the different perspectives and practices of
cultures. That made me feel closer to the diversity of Anatolian
civilisation.” 

But that, and the old music on Turkish Radio Television that she internalized,
were only parts of the mix that helped shape her sound. She was constantly
seeking out the new and the different, something to set off sparks in her
emotions. 

“When I heard Nirvana’s Nevermind for the first time, my mind blew
up. I discovered other Seattle bands, then people like Nick Cave, Joy Division,
Sonic Youth, and Einstürzende Neubaten. A bit later I heard Jefferson
Airplane’s “White Rabbit.” The dark, mellow mood of the
music, the use of the instruments and the vocal technique of Grace Slick greatly
inspired me and led me into psychedelia and then surf bands. What they all did
seemed to fit with older Turkish singers I loved like Selda BaÄŸcan and
Müzeyyen Senar.” 

By then Akyol was already part of a new underground music scene that had sprung
up in Istanbul. A military coup in the 1980s led to a repression of rock across
the country. After a decade the government’s grip was beginning to
loosen, and Akyol became part of the new wave of music, exploring the mix of old
Turkish music and rock that she heard in her head. 

“Your own culture is important; your parents and grandparents give it to
you,” she notes. “No culture is better than any other. I studied as
an anthropologist; I know that. So I began finding my culture and mixing it,
balancing the traditional and modern elements in my music. My art, my sound.
People focus so much on the technical part, but you have to look inside to find
out what you want to do. You have to say something new. I want to change the
world forever.” 

The daughter of acclaimed Turkish painter Muzaffer Akyol, Akyol earned a degree
in social anthropology and worked as an artist before creating music took over.
She experimented, feeling her way towards her vision. And when she met the band
Bubituzak, something clicked. They understood what she was doing; they became
part of her art. Together they recorded her debut, Develerle Yaşıyorum, in
2013, following it with acclaimed, masked performances in Turkey and at
festivals across Europe. 

“I love masks,” Akyol laughs. “They bring mystery and fun,
flexibility and a psychedelic aesthetic. Since Bubituzak are already a band, we
want to use masks to cover their faces in a mysterious and symbolic way.” 

That first disc seeded the ground. The new album, Hologram Ĭmparatorluğu,
bears the full fruit of the partnership. It digs deeper, fired with a seductive,
shadowy passion. The thick swirl of Oriental strings on “Hologram”
plunges towards the heated boil of “Fantastikir Bahti Yarimin.” The
dark lullaby of “Dünya Kaleska” weaves a haunted post-punk spell
before building to the album’s climax “Berduş,” where
spaghetti western guitar cracks over a propulsive rhythm and a sensuous
Anatolian melody. The sound is cinematic and gorgeous and Gaye’s luminous
voice brilliantly orchestrates these shifting moods. 

Echoing the bittersweet tendrils of Turkey’s faded past and dramatic
present, her lyrics are bold and deeply personal. At times she embraces the
nocturnal and romantic: “I feel immortal by your side/As if the world will
be safe/If I drink another double raki.” In other instances, she navigates
the surreal and the magically real: “Look at me/I’ve become a
butterfly/Come and find me/Black holes are everywhere.” And in several
songs she takes a sharp look at the stark realities of Turkey’s political
moment: You sold us out well! /You have a palace but/It’s just empty four
walls /Possessions mangle mortals.” It is no surprise that she cites
Turkish writers like Melih Cevdet Anday and Sabahattin Ali and the English poet
William Blake as crucial artistic influences. 

Her music, her art. 

“I look for passion in music, lyrics, feelings, people, conversations.
There can be no limbo, in between,” Akyol insists. “Passion talks
with its very self-assured way to change something or convince someone. I
believe we live in a hologram and art is my universe, so I organise the
galaxies, planets, solar systems.” 

And in Gaye Su Akyol’s universe, the past becomes folded into the present
and launched into the future. Hologram Ĭmparatorluğu is heady, powerfully
intoxicating and beautifully dangerous. 

“Your art is something you have to find yourself,” Akyol says.
“I’m looking inside my consciousness to my culture. I love rock but
there are hidden things in my subconscious. Call it Turkish art rock if you
like.” 

Past, present, future. Her music, her art. 

Tracklist:
3:53 | 01. Gaye Su Akyol - Hologram
3:32 | 02. Gaye Su Akyol - Akil olmayinca
2:42 | 03. Gaye Su Akyol - Kendimin efendisiyim ben
3:18 | 04. Gaye Su Akyol - Fantastiktir bahti yarimin
3:36 | 05. Gaye Su Akyol - Kendimden kaçmaktan
4:38 | 06. Gaye Su Akyol - Dünya kaleska
2:51 | 07. Gaye Su Akyol - Eski tüfek
3:33 | 08. Gaye Su Akyol - Uzat saçini Istanbul
4:54 | 09. Gaye Su Akyol - Nargile
2:53 | 10. Gaye Su Akyol - Anlasana sana aÅŸiÄŸim
2:16 | 11. Gaye Su Akyol - Mona Lisa
4:49 | 12. Gaye Su Akyol - BerduÅŸ

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