“Turkey” (Used 12 times)

MWE's set of entrancing, eclectic Balkan brass (or "Turkish Metal", as @kentsandvik described) was a highlight of the 2011 Golden Festival. NYC's 26th-annual music & dance bachanal, organized by the scene's pioneers & ringleaders Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band, showcased a greater range of "border crossing" music from the Balkans and beyond than ever before. Its elegant new location -- Brooklyn's Grand Prospect Hall -- was more elegant than the previous setting (a school in Inwood, where one of the stages was a gym). The new venue allowed for more stages and more performers (well over 50!), so naturally the WFMU Transpacific Sound Paradise broadcast team got a little more ambitious and set out to record on three stages where in previous years we had only documented one. The stage we missed was primary focused on choral/multi-vocal acts like WFMU favorites Black Sea Hotel, and fortunately there is video (via David Byrne's blog).

MWE's set took place on the 4th floor "Grand View Room," presenting "Sounds of the Middle East and Much More" (everything is "more" at Golden Festival!). I wasn't able to witness MWE's Golden Festival set live, but a big thanks to engineers Dave Mambach and Mark Koch who produced a great live document. MWE's live tracks really grabbed my attention with their four wind instruments (3-clarinets + 1 Zurna) creating a darkly festive drone beneath traditional Turkish percussion: dumbek (hand drum), riqq (tambourine), and the Davul (large double-headed bass drum). Their bio describes the Oakland, CA-based 6-piece's sound as "about the closest to heavy metal you can get without amplification."

MWE have also offered five tracks from their new demo to share, which Davul player Sean Tergis describes below:

 Varshaver: Varshaver is fully named "Varshaver Freilakhs," which is Yiddish for "happy dance from Warsaw." It's a klezmer piece. We learned it from an early 20th century recording of violinist Abe Schwartz.

 Sirtos (from Yiannitsa): The name speaks for itself but it should be noted that Yiannitsa is in northern Greece and this tune is in 7/8.

 Süleyman Ağa: This song is a Turkish Roman traditional. This 9/8 karsilama rhythm is probably the most popular rhythm among Turkish Roma.

Los Bilbilicos: This is a traditional sephardic tune that has spread in popularity all over the Mediterranean and Middle East.

 Halay: Halay is actually the name of a line dance from Turkey. It is driven by a relentless 2/4 beat, and usually features zurna and davul.

We have only just begun adding 2011 Golden Festival performances to the FMA collection, since there are so many incredible performances to go through -- keep an ear out for more and subscribe to the RSS!

Contemporary Turkish improv-psych-folk-rock group Hayvanlar Alemi have been a favorite discovery for many Free Music Archive members, myself included. I've written previously about how the group is inspired by the global psychedelic awakening of the 60s and 70s that blossomed pretty much everywhere from America to Zambia to Cambodia to India to their home country of Turkey (where artists like Selda Bagcan and Ersen are possibly my favorites of this entire era).

The Sublime Frequencies label, founded by Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls) and Hisham Mayet, has done incredible work shedding light on traditional music and psychedelic sounds from around the world, including those from previous decades (Cambodian Cassette Archives, 1970's Algerian Proto-Rai Underground, The Vinyl Warp of Latin American Psychedelia) and a transportive sound-collage series (i.e. Radio India, Radio Thailand, Radio Java, Radio Morocco). Meanwhile, contemporary artists like Syrian debke legend Omar Souleyman and the Western Saraha guitar sounds of Group Doueh have found international recognition and toured the globe thanks to Sublime Frequencies' support. The label is known for presenting these types of prolific artists (Omar Souleyman is said to have released over 500 cassettes!) through well-curated slices of sound.

Many of these sublime sounds have undoubtedly been an inspiration to Hayvanlar Alemi's music, so it's fantastic news that Sublime Frequencies is issuing their first-ever vinyl LP Guarana Superpower. We just received a promo copy here at WFMU, and Guarana Superpower is a helluva record that includes reworked versions of a few tunes that were first heard on Hayvanlar's many free mp3 releases Demolar (which our friend Olgu introduced to WFMU way back in its CD-R format -- thanks Olgu!).

Enjoy the Demolar version of these tracks, and you can pick up Hayvanlar Alemi's Guarana Superpower LP here.

Seems like all the world's a dub these days, and by and large that's a good thing. I've been wading deep into the underwater sounds of DJ /Rupture & Matt Shadetek, Titus 12, and a couple of the world's finest dub-oriented netlabels: LCL (Libre Comme Lair), and Jahtari. A lot of the stuff that's bending my ear lately has veered toward the electronicly manipulated sound. Which is a good thing too. But it's also one reason why it's so refreshing to hear Visions of Psychedelic Ankara, the newest album from Turkey's most awesome contemporary rock band.

I think of Hayvanlar Alemi as a modern continuation of the global psychedelic/folk/rock phenomenon of the late 1960s and early 1970s, an era of when the electric guitar melded with traditional musical influences around the world. Artists like Ersen and Selda in Turkey, Traffic Sound in Peru, Os Mutantes in Brazil, Chrissy Zebby Tembo & Ngozi Family in Zambia, Sinn Sissamouth and Pan Ron in Cambodia...

This first wave of international psych-rock is a major influence on Hayvanlar Alemi's music -- for example, their Demolar 2007-2008 drew inspiration heavy on sounds from "Cambodia, Malaysia, Bolivia and Japan, mutated African guitars, some post-rock ambiance, touches of surf and dub, and a live improv." Dub has always been an element in Hayvanlar Alemi's music, and it's brought to the forefront on Visions of Psychedelic Ankara. I highly recommend checking out all four of Hayvanlar Alemi's free albums here.

I'm working on a mix of dubbed out favorites from the FMA and beyond -- was hoping to make it part of this post but I think I'll take my time with it.

What dubbed out sounds have you been diggin lately? If you're craving more dub, have you checked out LCL (Libre Comme Lair)'s recent adds to the FMA? Holy smokes!

FOC MUZIKLoucy Louder & MXZEHN 25 Masterpieces per SecondOn the furthest European outpost, the Bosporus, a city lies of ancient dimensions. A choir of muezzins is chanting into the haze between Asia and Europe. Bahadir Hamdemir, Stefan Kraus, Thomas Prestin, and Tilman Porschuetz traveled to Istanbul and met the Turkish drum virtuoso Cem Tan. A spirit who immediately possessed the group of visitors. He brought with him the wisdom of shaman, supersonic speed, and a wonderful distrust in rationality.

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