Baba Zula - XX '2017

Tracks list

       A kaleidoscopic, two-disc, career-spanning compilation from
Istanbul’s revered psychedelic explorers. Esteemed collaborators include
Sly & Robbie, Mad Professor, Dr. Das of Asian Dub Foundation, Alexander Hacke
(Einstürzende Neubaten) and more. Without a doubt one of the planet’s
great musical adventures. All too often these days, the world can feel like a
dark and dangerous place. But music remains a light in the bleakness, offering a
constant sense hope and joy and celebration. In Turkey the ominous shadows have
been growing longer for several years but Baba Zula have been a shining beacon
for 20 years, bringing the West and the Orient together in a glory of Istanbul
psychedelia. To celebrate those two decades of existence, XX brings together
tracks from across Baba Zula’s history, along with a second album of dubs
created by artists like Mad Professor. Dr. Das of Asian Dub Foundation, and
Dirtmusic. “We wanted to have a compilation that was a little
different,” explains group founder and electric saz player Osman Murat
Ertel. “None of the pieces here are in their original forms. Instead, we
picked remixes, re-recordings, collaborations, live tracks, all the
possibilities, but none of these have been released before. And it’s a
mix of recording techniques – digital, analogue, tape, mp3.” Formed
by Ertel and Levent Akman in 1996, Baba Zula took Turkish psychedelic pioneers
of the 1960s like MoÄŸollar as their inspiration and foundation for what they
called Istanbul psychedelia, the fathers of a scene that’s since grown up
around them. “Those original bands of the ‘60s grew out of
traditional Anatolian music,” Ertel says. “But the coups of the
1970s and ‘80s put an end to any experimentation. We picked up the reins
to make music for the 21st century with electric instruments, effects, and
machines, something contemporary and unique. I always tell people that they
might not like us, but no one can say we’re not original!” Baba
Zula came into existence when Ertel’s previous outfit, ZeN, was asked to
create a soundtrack by a director friend. Ertel and two other members were
interested, and the band grew from that seed, with music for films very much a
part of their output. Since that small beginning, Baba Zula have played all over
the world, won awards for their work in film and theatre, often been rewarded at
the Turkish Billboard awards, and had their albums counted among the most
prestigious ever released in Turkey. They’ve also built a global network
of like-minded performers, experimental souls in all genres of music, working
with people as varied as Turkish opera singer Semiha Berksoy, dub mixer Mad
Professor, and Can drummer Jaki Liebzeit. And that, to Ertel, is one of the
band’s great successes. “It’s exciting to collaborate with
people you listened to when you were young. It’s a great inspiration and
a huge fulfilment in dreaming something and having it come true. And it becomes
a link of friendship.” Those links and the band’s deep and
fascinating history are displayed in widescreen on XX. “Biz Size Aşik
Olduk” (We Fell In Love With You), for instance, is the only song
they’ve ever created for a television serial, one that catapulted them to
popularity all across Turkey. “I went to the market the day after it was
shown,” Ertel recalls. “As soon as the girl at the cash desk knew
who I was, she began singing it.” But Baba Zula have always believed that
music needs to make a powerful statement, and they’ve never pulled
punches in their lyrics. On XX, both “Aşiklarin Sözü Kalir”
(Eternal Is The Word Of Poets) and “Efkarli Yaprak” (Worried Leaf)
make their points very eloquently. “They’re both re-interpretations
of songs we’ve released,” Ertel says. “They appeared on
different albums, but we wanted to re-record them so they were closer to our
live sound. The first is about how the words of the talking heads and
politicians become meaningless so quickly, but what poets say resonate through
the centuries. I wrote the second song for my uncle, who was a journalist. He
and others fought with their pens and pencils, even though they were tortured
and jailed. He died four years ago, and I composed this as a celebration of
him.” In typically perverse and playful fashion, although their biggest
‘hit’ – “Bir Sana Bir De Bana” (One For You And
One For Me) – is here, it’s not the original Baba Zula version of
the song, but one featuring a duet between an Armenian man and a French woman.
The disc closes with a pair of previously unreleased live tracks.
“Çöl Aslanlari” (Desert Lions) was mixed by Einstürzende
Neubaten’s Alexander Hacke, while “Abdülcanbaz” is taken
from a performance at the Resistance Festival in Piraeus, Greece, with
Ertel’s electric saz powering and pushing the group higher and higher
over a swell of percussion, electric oud, effects, and vocals. They’re
long, mesmeric cuts, the pulsing of an ancient Turkish soul in a very modern
band. “They’re very raw recordings,” Ertel agrees, “but
they have power. A record made in the studio is very different to a concert.
We’ve never put out a live album, so I wanted to show that side of
us.” And now, with 20 years behind them, what’s next for Baba Zula?
“I never thought it would last this long,” Ertel admits.
“Maybe another 20 years is possible, maybe not. But living here in Turkey,
I don’t know about the future. I hope the band could continue without me.
We give our messages very carefully for those who can understand them. But I do
know it’s important to carry on; you can be gone anytime.” 


Tracklist:
1 01. Baba Zula - Özgür Ruh (feat. Mehmet Güreli) (03:14)
1 02. Baba Zula - Gerekli şeyler (feat. Özkan Uğur) (03:47)
1 03. Baba Zula - Erotika Hop (01:02)
1 04. Baba Zula - Biz Size Aşık Olduk (TV Version) (03:05)
1 05. Baba Zula - Seksek (00:47)
1 06. Baba Zula - Cecom (feat. Brenna Mac Crimmon) (05:13)
1 07. Baba Zula - Aşıkların Sözü Kalır (feat. Brenna Mac
Crimmon) (09:56)
1 08. Baba Zula - Efkarlı Yaprak (08:56)
1 09. Baba Zula - Carino (feat. La Yegros) (04:17)
1 10. Baba Zula - Yororo Kanto (feat. Oki Dub Ainu Band & Rekpo) (04:40)
1 11. Baba Zula - Bir Sana Bir de Ban (feat. Delayaman) (03:35)
1 12. Baba Zula - Çöl Aslanları (05:39)
1 13. Baba Zula - Abdülcanbaz (19:45)
2 14. Baba Zula - Alem (feat. Arastaman) (Dub Version) (04:22)
2 15. Baba Zula - Nobey (feat. Arastaman) (Dub Version) (05:38)
2 16. Baba Zula - Ufak (feat. Arastaman) (Dub Version) (04:21)
2 17. Baba Zula - Iki Alem (feat. Dr. Das) (Dub Version) (04:27)
2 18. Baba Zula - KK (feat. Onofon) (Dub Version) (03:52)
2 19. Baba Zula - Hopche (feat. Dirtmusic) (Dub Version) (04:11)
2 20. Baba Zula - Park (feat. Uchi Uchida) (Dub Version) (04:13)
2 21. Baba Zula - Lemon (feat. Uchi Uchida) (03:19)
2 22. Baba Zula - Adultress (feat. Mad Professor) (Dub Version) (03:17)
2 23. Baba Zula - BSAO (feat. Mad Professor) (Dub Version) (04:13)
2 24. Baba Zula - Divan (feat. Mad Professor) (Dub Version) (02:19)
2 25. Baba Zula - Meçhul Plak (Dub Version) (03:06)
2 26. Baba Zula - Israr (Dub Version) (00:55)
2 27. Baba Zula - Erotik Adab (feat. Mad Professor) (Dub Version) (04:17)
2 28. Baba Zula - Analog Anadolu (Dub Version) (10:20) 

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