The Sound Of Protest

In May ‘18 it is exactly a half century ago that turbulent student revolts took place in Paris and spread throughout Europe. AB responds and commits to protest music. The current social and political climate is unfortunately an ‘ideal’ source of inspiration.

AB delves into the The Sound Of Protest and lets the voices of Turkish social protest songs, London’s grime, the call for (musical) borderlessness, the Black Lives Matter movement and working Punk Icons fully resound.

TURKISH PSYCHEDELICA? PINK FLOYD ON SAZ!
The latest darling of the indie scene, for a while now: Turkish psychedelica. Labels like Finders Keepers ensure a revitalisation of the heritage through a constant stream of Turkish re-issues; folk hero Selda Bağcan is being rediscovered at a large scale; and contemporary acts like Gaye Su Akyol, Derya Yildirim, BaBa ZuLa and Altin Gün fully embrace this style. They all refer to the heyday of Turkish psychedelica in the ’60s and ’70s, when Anatolian rock/folk fused with Western rock ’n roll. Artists like Erkin Koray (often sampled by Gonjasufi), Ersen, Bariș Manço, Selda Bağcan or Cem Karaca, were the Turkish heroes of the time who were often also political activists. Time to open up the gates of the genre...

9:00pm (AB Flex)
SELDA BAĞCAN & BOOM PAM
We saw Selda Bağcan – who, by the way, turns 70 this year – shine at Le Guess Who? (’14) and Primavera (’16) and instanty understood why St. Vincent, Elijah Wood, Antony Hegarty, 2manydj’s, Mos Def and tUnE-yArDs had already been raving about her for years. (Still) a wonderful voice, compelling songs and an Israeli backing band - Boom Pam – that plays on the cutting edge.

Many of her songs bear a socio-political message, which made her enormously popular with left-wing activists during the politically polarized years of the ’70s. She was persecuted by the military regime after the Turkish coup of 1980 and ended up in prison three times (!) in the years that followed. Even her paspoort was confiscated. So, she couldn’t perform outside the country until’87.

In ’93 she released the single ‘Uğurlar Olsun’ (‘Farewell’), a lament for the murdered research journalist Uğur Mumcu. The song was symbol for the political turbulence of the ’90s. Selda also supported the Gezi Park protesters in ’13.

Ready for a world class muscial (re)discovery?

7:45 pm (AB Flex)
DERYA YILDIRIM & GRUP ŞIMŞEK (Turk./D/Uk/Fr.)
At hearing Yildirim’s voice, it only takes mere seconds for your soul to be willingly won. This singer/multi-instrumentalist possesses namely a unique voice that interprets both melancholy and Desire. Musically, she is accompanied by Grup Şimşek who are brilliant at hypnotizing Anatolian psych-pop. Just call it: a healing mix of Turkish folk, grooves and psychedelica.

Aside from own compositions, Derya Yildirim also interpreted gems by fellow countryfolks like Selda, rock pioneer Barış Manço, Moğollar (founding fathers of Turkish folk rock) and the Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet. Their visit to Feeërieën last year was certainly one to put in a frame.

Ready for a heavenly musical discovery?

10:30 pm (AB Club)
GAYE SU AKYOL
Her music is influenced by both her Turkish roots – Gaye is a big fan of Selda – and by Joy Division, Nick Cave & surf. She doesn’t want to label her second album ‘Hologram Ĭmparatorluğu’ (via the superb Glitterbeat) as a political pamphlet. But those who listen well can hear more than pointed criticism of the contemporary Turkish regime. Their shows – aside from Gaye, all musicians wear masks – are both moving and mesmerizing.

Music blog Louder Than War could barely suppress their enthusiasm: “Haunting and rich vocals’ ... “It’s a real boiling pot of East meets West” … “A bit of Patrick Watson if he were on a trip to Turkey intentionally writing Eastern infused tunes” ... “Wonderful stuff.”

 

DJ DRIFTBUI plays Turkish psychedelica
Antwerp DJ with Turkish roots who has already shared a stage with Andy Votel (Finders Keepers) and Omar Souleyman. He takes you away to the wonderful sound of the ’70s in Anatolia.
Be sure to check out his superb mixtape in the meantime: https://www.mixcloud.com/Driftbui/anatolian-express-vol-1/

Ready for a mesmerizing musical discovery?