ALTIN GÜN
Turquie / Pays-Bas
Turkey / Netherlands
Glitterbeats records
Altin Gün revient avec un sublime album qui élargit son exploration du rock anatolien et du psyché turque avec des excursions synth-pop 80s rêveuses. Le groupe d’Amsterdam s’est bâti une solide réputation pour son habileté à mélanger passé et présent pour concevoir un son pop psychédélique des plus brillants. Yol (« Route »), son troisième album dévoile une nouvelle palette sonore riche en surprises. Bien qu’il puise dans les traditions riches et diverses de la musique folklorique anatolienne et turque, Yol n’est pas seulement un disque qui restaure les musiques traditionnelles pour un public contemporain. Il présente un son texturé et avant-pop, à l’image du premier single « Ordunun Dereleri ». Mystérieux et atmosphérique, le morceau marque l’évolution du groupe, entraînant l’auditeur dans un monde sonore qui résonne aux rythmes des beats électro down-tempo et des synthés majestueux. Cet album a connu une approche différente des deux premiers pour sa conception et son enregistrement car chaque membre était coincé à la maison pendant trois mois et devait ajouter ses parties à distance. Yol affiche un ton rêveur, peut-être né de ce temps forcé à l’introspection. On y trouve également des éléments synth-pop des années 80. Ce nouveau paysage musical a été nourri par les choix d’instruments, à savoir l’Omnichord ainsi que la boite à rythme. Si Yol est encore un effort collectif de la part des six membres, le disque doit aussi beaucoup à son équipe de production, Asa Moto (duo de producteur basé à Ghent composé d’Oliver Geerts et de Gilles Noë) qui a mixé l’album. C’est une première pour Altin Gün qui enregistrait toujours sur bandes avec son propre ingénieur du son. On retrouve la veine psyché anatolienne groovy mais on découvre également des influences brésiliennes, du reggae cosmique et des grooves disco. Avec Yol, Altin Gün a breveté son processus magique de réimagination et de recherche sonore !
Altın Gün
The critically acclaimed Amsterdam-based Anatolian rock and Turkish Psychedelic
Folk band, Altın Gün, spend their pandemic period in the studio and released two
albums! Yol, was released on Glitterbeat Records (Europe) and ATO Records
(America), Âlem, a release for charity is a bandcamp exclusive release. Buy a song,
protect at least 1m2 of nature.
Amsterdam’s Altin Gün have built a strong reputation for fusing past and present to
make brilliantly catchy, upbeat pop music, as seen with their Grammy-nominated second
album, Gece. Yol, their third album in as many years, continues that trend; while unveiling a
number of sonic surprises.
It should be no surprise to learn that the band again draws from the rich and
incredibly diverse traditions of Anatolian and Turkish folk music. But however familiar the
story, Yol as well as Âlem are not just records that reframes traditional sounds for a
contemporary audience. The albums which often presents a strongly international, poppy
sound, also signals a very different approach in making and recording for the band. Singer
Merve Dasdemir takes up the story: “We were basically stuck at home for three months
making home demos, with everybody adding their parts. The transnational feeling maybe
comes from that process of swapping demos over the internet, some of the music we did in
the studio, but lockdown meant we had to follow a different approach.”
Yol and Âlem displays a noticeable dreaminess, maybe born from this enforced time to
reflect. And select elements of late 1970s or early 1980s “Euro” synth pop also shine
through. This new musical landscape was nurtured by certain instrument choices; namely
the Omnichord. Altın Gün sounds like a Turkish kindergarten music teacher from the 1980s
using an 808!’
As ever, the tracks are the result of a true group effort, with ideas on the mentioned
Omnichord, 808 and other elements - such as field recordings and new age-esque ideas
- continually kicked about between the six band members. At a safe distance of course.
The records also owes something to a new approach to recording, with the band working
with Asa Moto (the Ghent-based producer-crew, Oliver Geerts and Gilles Noë) who mixed
the records. Before this the band always recorded on tape with their own sound engineer.
It would be wrong to say that what made Altın Gün such a loved and successful band
has been left to one side. The pressure-cooker workouts, ‘Sevda Olmasaydı’ and ‘Maçka
Yolları’ are classic cuts from the band. And on Âlem two originals on their signature
employment of a dizzying array of ideas and approaches can be heard with the marked
Brazilian feel of ‘Kara Toprak’ and the bands’ original ‘Kısasa kısas’ with a taste of cosmic
reggae filters through the grooves of ‘Yüce Dağ Başında’, and there is a steaming version
of ‘Hey Nari’ which gives the traditional composition by Ali Ekber Çiçek a kick onto the
dancefloor.
Altın Gün have maybe patented their own magical process of reimagining and sonic pathfinding,
one probably not heard since the late 1960s and early 1970s British folk rock boom.
Less of a reworking than a seduction, their recordings transport the listener to a world
where the original songs never previously inhabited. Merve Dasdemir again: “After we
worked on them, they got a whole new life of their own. Maybe we went a little bit too
far (laughs).”
Altın Gün are:
Merve Dasdemir – vocals, keyboards
Erdinç Ecevit – vocals, saz, keyboards
Jasper Verhulst – bass
Thijs Elzinga – guitar
Daniel Smienk – drums
Chris Bruining – percussion
Discography
albums
2021 - Âlem (Bandcamp)
2021 - Yol (Glitterbeat and ATO Records)
2019 - Gece (Glitterbeat and ATO Records)
2018 - On (Bongo Joe Records)
Singles
2021 - Kısasa kısas (Glitterbeat and ATO Records)
2021 - Yüce Dağ Başında (Glitterbeat and ATO Records)
2020 - Ordunun Dereleri (Glitterbeat and ATO Records)
2019 - Gelin Halayi/Div Div (Glitterbeat and ATO Records)
2019 - Süpürgesi Yoncadan/Vay Vay (ATO Records)
2018 - Vay Vay (Bongo Joe Records)
2018 - Hababam (Bongo Joe Recods)
2017 - Tatli Dile Güler Yüze (Bongo Joe Records)
2017 - Goca Dünya/Kırşehirin Gülleri (Bongo Joe Records)