The energy is evident on Altin Gün’s upcoming album Aşk (out on March 31 via Glitterbeat Records) which sees the band back in the studio together for the first time post-pandemic, following the release of 2021’s home-produced records Âlem and Yol.
Use of vintage equipment and recording techniques nods to the ‘70s Anatolian psyche sound the record harks back to, without restricting sonic innovation or imagination.
Each track reworks a traditional Turkish folk tune, yet interestingly the album as a whole excludes the nostalgic folksy elements occasionally found on Gece (2019) and On (2018). Instead these timeless classics are taken on a psych-rock vision quest, encountering fuzz, acid folk, synth-wave and futurist disco along the way.
Intention is set from the start: urgent opener Badi Sabah Olmidan features whipcrack drums, Beverly Hills Cop-cum-Rocky montage riffs and vocals in turn darkly glowering and desperate. Slide guitar teases then builds to screaming fever-pitch. A pleading paean to love and desire, it’s a firecracker of a mission statement.
The album largely settles into a rhythm-driven groove, with yearning or brooding voice augmented by electric saz, slide guitar and synth in turn.
Some tracks stand apart, though. Dere Geliyor strips back to pensive vocals and funky bass, before slide and synth float in to build foamy layers of acid folk-pop. Rakiya Su Katamam’s big, fuzzy rock guitar and Omar Souleyman-resonant riff build to a heavy chorus.
Kalk Gidelim is a hip-swinging, swaggering trip that takes its casual time before breaking into a Jefferson Airplane-style freak out; and smile-inducing sugarpuff Doktor Civanim closes the album with breathy spoken word, light-as-air disco synth and the click of a tape recorder as its last word.
Aşk rewards full attention, where background listening blurs distinct rhythms and instrumentation. One thing is clear though: live shows are going to be an absolute vibe. Catch Altin Gün on tour across Europe in April, including Electric Brixton London on the 13th.
All proceeds from streams of album track Güzelliğin On Para Etmez will be donated to the Red Cross supporting on the ground rescue and rebuild efforts following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
– You can pre-order your copy of Aşk HERE –