Anadolu Ejderi

Whereas earlier albums had more to do with retro-futurism, on Anadolu Ejderi (Anatolian Dragons) past and present collide beguilingly as Gaye Su Akyol hitches a ride on the Anatolian wagon with an opening title-track setting high expectations via bold synth flash, fierce drum roll, punchy guitar lines and haunting refrain. At last Gaye Su Akyol has delivered a made-to-measure dance track.

One searches greedily for a follow-up to this dance floor killer, which might come in the form of ‘Gel Yanıma Gel’. The track begins with quirky, quavering keyboard flourish and then descends into a dark mood with some great saz-like guitar riffs – it is a cover of an old evergreen by Neşet Ertaş, which Akyol gives an introverted twist, inwardly grooving. ‘Yaram Derin Derin Kanar’ (My Wound Bleeds Deeply) is the finest kara sevda (black sevdah) – painful black-hued blues, a Turkish speciality. The track ends with a nice albeit all-too-brief Arabesque flourish, which begs the question: why are most contemporary Turkish acts (like Akyol, Lalaler, etc) so overly sparing with this, their stylistic heritage? “I come from rock’n’roll,” says Gaye Su Akyol by way of an answer.