Ayıp Olmasın

The work of communist poet Nâzım Hikmet has served as an inspiration to Turkish musicians throughout the decades – from opera singer turned folk troubadour Ruhi Su, to psychedelic pioneers Cem Karaca and Selda Bağcan. Now add to the list Istanbul-based quartet Yalnayak, whose debut album, Ayıp Olmasın, takes its name from a Hikmet poem. Yalnayak have also clearly absorbed the music of those psych-originators, as can be heard on standout-track ‘Straight Hamam’, which uncoils a lumbering Anatolian groove embellished with flickers of kanun zither and wailing synth sirens. But, at the same time – and much like those earlier artists – there’s also a commitment to updating the source materials for the modern day here. In practice, that means turning away from 70s prog-funk in favour of some fairly insipid disco-lite and electro-pop. While the urge to make new is to be commended, the polished 21st-century sounds of Yalnayak’s Ayıp Olmasın don’t quite bite.