Tulum: A Sound from the Black Sea

The Black Sea region is like a different country compared to the rest of Turkey. It's misty, mountainous and cool, with numerous tea-plantations. And it has its own music, which you soon discover when travelling in the region. Even if you don’t run into live music, you hear it in cafes and on the local TV, characterised by the Black Sea kemençe, a narrow upright fiddle, and the tulum bagpipe which gives its name to this CD. Cassettes and local recordings are widely available, but this is perhaps the first international release focussing on this repertoire. Emin Yağci is clearly an expert tulum player and collector of music in the region.

Starting with a solo bagpipe improvisation, this disc presents a dozen songs and dances of the region. There's a nice variety of different instrumental combinations of bagpipe, kemençe, saz and percussion and English explanations to make sense of it all. Those unfamiliar with the music may find it rough and raw, but that's part of the appeal and the best tracks tend to be when the music is most strident, as in the wedding dance ‘Iki Ayak Horonu’