The Amsterdam-based Altın Gün’s newest album, Yol was written and recorded with its members scattered all around Europe. This distance allowed them to experiment for their third studio release, adding sleek synths and more dancefloor-ready cool jams to their established worldbeat sounds which earned them a Grammy nomination in 2019.
In the Anatolian rock style, the band uses traditional Turkish folk songs and crafts new arrangements to best express them in a modern way. Staying away from politics, the group (Merve Dasdemir – vocals, keyboards Erdinç Ecevit – vocals, saz, keyboards Jasper Verhulst – bass Ben Rider – guitar Daniel Smienk – drums Gino Groeneveld – percussion) interprets traditional songs about love and relationships.
Yol is split between two worlds as icy synths and early 80’s pop influence the first half before more organic funk/groove numbers close the record. The mix of new wave and lounge enters for “Ordunun Dereleri” in Duran Duran “Ordinary World” fashion before going full euro-pop on “Bulunur Mu”. “Yüce Dağ Başında” is electro-pop to the extreme and feels thin while the slick minimalist “Kesik Cayir” is better however results improve when Altın Gün let their more organic side shine through.
The second half of the album comes alive with a closing run of funky niblets like the slippery “Sevda Olmasaydi”, the handclap-laden “Maçka Yollari” and the playful “Yekte” but it is “Kara Toprak” which is the real standout. The song recalls late-career Talking Heads with a rolling groove, gorgeous vocals, and bright horn work.
A track that best bridges the two styles is “Hey Nari”, which uses bubbling guitar lines, warm hand drum pops, and swirling synths all-around a hypnotic low end. On Yol, Altın Gün merges Turkish folk singing with modern sounds, eighties neon new wave with slinky modern funk, European tradition with a sense of a wide-open future.
Photo by Sanja Marusic
