Love, Peace & Poetry: Turkish Psychedelic Music (2005)

Love, Peace & Poetry: Turkish Psychedelic Music (2005)

I didn't really notice how criminally absent Turkish music was from my collection until I heard this album; or how little I knew about Turkey as a country; about its history and its people. With the ninth installment of the Love, Peace, and Poetry compilation, which explores obscure world psychedelic music, Normal Records and QDK Media have opened my eyes. Does that mean that, thanks to this compilation, I can now give you a detailed synopsis on Turkish history, pop culture, and current events? Nope, but I can damn sure assume that their musicians in the 70's must've had some pretty potent drugs at their disposal.

Though the album is subtitled Turkish Psychedelic Music, the songs on here can more accurately be described as Anatolian rock, which was the name given to music that fused traditional Turkish folk with Western-style rock. Despite following in the footsteps of popular American and British psych bands, the songs on this compilation, with its infusion of traditional Eastern instruments, is actually more deeply representative of what most people today would classify as true psych rock. It's hard to argue this when listening to songs like "Yağmur" by Erkin Koray -- an artist that the liner notes calls "the most psychedelic rocker ever from Turkey" -- or the lead-off track "Bundan Sonra" by Selda, who contributes to two songs to the compilation. Her other song, "Ince Ince Bir Kar Yagar", is my favorite track on the album. It's a traditional türkü arrangement with strong political lyrics that I don't understand a word of, but the emotion of her often harsh delivery easily gives away the songs' urgent and deeply personal tone, which somehow allows me to look past the grating quality of the vocals.

Overall, this Love, Peace and Poetry collection should appeal to any fan of psychedelic music. It's a collection of music so strong that it's singlehandedly sparked my interest in the culture from which it came. Another demonstration of the power of music, I guess.


Score: 8.5/10


"Kara Yazi"


"Ince Ince Bir Kar Yagar"