Nublu Rock & Indie 2 Items

Active since 2001, Ayyuka was one of the first bands to look back at 70’s Turkish music to find a new voice. Not caught up in the Retromania but reincarnating Turkish Psychedelic within their own style, the band managed to develop an unmistakeable unique sound. Inspirations of Dick Dale, John Frusciante, and local heroes like Erkin Koray, Orhan Gencebay, make their music more guitar oriented but their fascination with film music and improvisation creates unexpected twists within their songs. Right after their eponymous debut in 2007, the band shared stage with Sonic Youth and Jonathan Richman. Heading to a completely instrumental music, their 3rd studio recording “Sömester” had already become a cult album for record collectors. They’ve collaborated with Orlando Julius, Ilhan Ersahin and had guests on almost every album. Their latest full length “Maslak Halayı” was a creative collaboration with Calibro35 genius Tommaso Colliva. The worldwide hype of "Yukadans” will now be followed by their upcoming EP "Zaman Ziyan”, showcasing four brand new instrumental tracks that will transport listeners through a kaleidoscope of musical landscapes, experimenting with techniques of music writing and flirting with genres like afro-beat, funk, dub or arabesque. Save the date for their very first performance of these, live at babylon, as a part of Akbank Jazz Festival.

Confusion is good sometimes. It’s a way to start thinking about whatever you are confused about. This is what Ilhan Ersahin’s Istanbul Sessions do since 2008. They managed to fire the stages all across the world: from New York to Istanbul, from Paris to Sao Paolo, from London to Skopje... Questions they spread all these years where like: are they really turkish? is this really jazz? doesn’t it sound like a rock band? how come a jazz ensemble can really be like a band? How can they be so able to jam with any musician they meet on stage? And so on... It’s a simple fact Ilhan Ersahin, being one of the rare moguls of New York City underground scene via his club and record label (nublu), is traveling all around the world. It’s possible to see him jamming with Red Hot Chili Peppers in Sao Paolo, featuring Bugge Wesseltoft in Blue Note Tokyo and/or playing a beautiful oriental set with turkish gypsies in an elegant concert hall somewhere in Europe. His newyorker energy is with him all the time. How about Istanbul Sessions then? It’s a summary of all you read above. Master level musicianship meets a high eclecticism where the cliche of “east-to-west crossover” finds its true sense and power. A session is a meeting of a deliberative body to conduct its business. In this case, the business is music, and the music is another heavyweight long player from Ilhan Ersahin & crew. Upon listening to the record for the first time, one word overrides every other emotion and devours the mind: Cinema. More specifically, “cinematic.” Ersahin’s sax sounds like it was recorded in the fucking Alps. Or in the sweeping sand dunes and Oasis’s of the Middle East. It’s just that W I D E. On “Falling,” Ersahin’s sax is practically 3-dimensional. Double tracked and bathed in a healthy dose of reverb, the saxophone and rhythm of the band evoke a story-like narrative. From the mad-man trills strewn throughout the track, to the soaring, almost stadium anthem chorus. Clearly, it’s all about the (s)axe, and Ilhan Ersahin is YOUR axeman. History has a tendency to repeat itself, and for the third time ‘round, East meets West once again. And the results are more satisfying than that mammoth inter-racial orgy you’re always fantasizing of. Through Ersahin’s playing, you can hear the ghostly echoes of dead, pre-war jazz greats behind his frenzy-inducing saxophone playing. You can also hear the Siren’s call, the brooding beauty of the shrouded mystery that is the Desert. Devilishly hot and bothered, the dry night air caresses your face, stirring a primal urge that excites as you step out into the glow of the Turkish metropolis. An Istanbul session, awaits.