V.A. Saz Power

"Saz Power" features a special sound: the saz, acoustic and electric. This lute instrument is the most commonly used folk instrument in Turkey. It is connected both to Ottoman classical music—the centuries-old tradition of the wandering bards of Aşıks—and to the psychedelic Anatolian rock of the 1970s. Through archaeological excavations of mounds in Anatolia, the saz can be traced back to an age before the Common Era.
And yet the saz is an international as well as a specifically Turkish instrument. It has gained a wider popularity due to its unique sound and its unique history, especially with the renewed interest in Anatolian rock music that has been growing for a decade now, and the new wave of psychedelic music worldwide. This global appeal is reflected on the album by the choice of artists: one half is played by musicians from Turkey, the other by players from Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, and Israel.
The concept for this album was conceived by musician Demir Kerem Atay (aka Elektro Hafız) and developed by the two label directors Cem Şeftalicioğlu and Ercan Demirel. It was to showcase different models of the saz (acoustic, electric) and saz-related instruments (like the Buzuq and Cümbüş), but also different styles, different ways to play the saz through different countries, to offer a full spectrum of the music that can be produced with it.
This concept was immediately embraced by all the musicians asked to participate in the album. Here they could show their love for the instrument—and indeed they all did so. The arrangements combine the traditional or the electric saz with the diverse sounds and vibrations of psychedelic guitars, basses, organs, synths, drums, and percussion. The tunes are based on different styles of Anatolian folk music or are contemporary compositions written by the artists.
As a result, the music belongs partly to a new generation of Turkish folk music and Anatolian rock—always updating the living tradition of these styles—and partly to a fresh blend of Anatolian rock with other styles like electronic music or the soundtrack to a psychedelic Western. Introducing us to a wide range of saz instruments and ways of playing them, this album goes straight to the heart, with all the yearning gentleness and tremendous power the saz can offer.
Holger Lund