Mehmet Aslan Khidr + Ilyas Purple Vinyl Edition

The Berlin-based Turkish-Swiss producer Mehmet Aslan has spent the past few years developing a deserved reputation as a truly esoteric and imaginative producer, drawing on his own heritage and vast record collection for labels such as Huntleys & Palmers, Dischi Autunno and his own Fleeting Wax imprint, co-founded with Miajica.

For his latest EP, due in March on Basel's Planisphere Music, Aslan delivers arguably his most detailed and intriguing production to date. Sampling Turkish singer-songwriter Deniz Tekin’s performance of the traditional Roma folk song ‘Ederlezi’, a centuries-old standard among the Romani minority.

Following an enigmatic ‘Intro’, an ambient jam with Daniel Pankau that establishes the record’s overall atmosphere (and the versatility of Aslan as a sampler able to find new sounds within older music), Aslan’s sensational and haunting flip bursts into life. Titled ‘Khidr + Ilyas’ after the two prophets who were said to come together every year to help the people, the music is equally generous to the original source, reworking Tekin’s delicate vocal performance around an almost half-stepping beat, wringing tension and intrigue out of dusty analog synthesis and distant piano.

Meanwhile, an additional instrumental’ edit adds weight and power in the 'dub' tradition.