Uzelli Elektro Saz (1976-1984)

Following on the heels of its Psychedelic Anadolu selection from 2017, legendary Turkish label Uzelli has come out with a new compilation of electrifying electro-saz tracks geared toward Western audiences, broadening minds and horizons with Turkish folk-rock fusions. Uzelli got its start providing Turkish Gastarbeiter (migrant workers) in Germany with mostly Arabesk cassettes, durable and heat resistant enough to survive the 3,000km long yearly road trips from Germany, though the Balkans to Turkey, embarked on every summer by the workers.

Uzelli Elektro Saz, however, is directed at a hip Western crowd eager for a new (yet retro) audio kick, familiar through the songs of Altın Gün and Derya Yıldırım. The curator of the album is Murat Ertel, singer and saz player with Baba Zula, who seems to have his finger in quite a lot of projects these days. Delving into the expansive archives of Uzelli, Ertel and his wife Esma have pulled out enchanting and infectious old saz songs, like the instrumental version of ‘Dom Dom Kurşunu’ written by Aşık Mahzuni Şerif and popularised by İbrahim Tatlıses, which has recently been arranged and given a new lease of life by German-Turkish up-and coming artist Derya Yıldırım. Full of raw guitar power and at the same time Oriental and unmistakably Turkish sounds is Kına Gecesi Ensemble's ‘Misket’, a rough and rocky take on a type of folk dance from Adana centred around a song about lost love and suffering.