Islandman are an electro-acoustic downtempo ensemble from Turkey led by multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Tolga Böyük with drummer/percussionist Eralp Güven and guitaristErdem Baser. Their often exotic, shape-shifting sound combines gauzy Balearic, neo-psychedelia, ambient, atmospheric electronics, and organic and synthetic dance beats with silvery, spacious guitars, saz, and keyboard interplay. Their music's root inspirations lie in Turkish and Middle Eastern modal, folk, rock, and electronic music. After a ...
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Islandman are an electro-acoustic downtempo ensemble from Turkey led by multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Tolga Böyük with drummer/percussionist Eralp Güven and guitaristErdem Baser. Their often exotic, shape-shifting sound combines gauzy Balearic, neo-psychedelia, ambient, atmospheric electronics, and organic and synthetic dance beats with silvery, spacious guitars, saz, and keyboard interplay. Their music's root inspirations lie in Turkish and Middle Eastern modal, folk, rock, and electronic music. After a handful of conventional releases including 2020's Kaybola and 2021's Karavan Sessions, Amsterdam's Night Dreamer label invited them to record one of their very occasional Direct-To-Disc Sessions. Islandman selected young saz virtuoso Muhlis Berberoglu, the face of Anatolian music's new generation, and legendary octogenarian percussionist Okay Temiz, who has worked with iconic musicians from all over the world including Cem Karaca, Don Cherry, Johnny Dyani, and Lars Gullin. Temiz has been a lifelong inspiration to every member of Islandman. Böyük sought to make an album of modern Balearic-tinged folktronica with adventurous percussion. What transpired far exceeded his expectations.Ten-and-a-half-minute opener "A?ik Ati?masi" is an excellent showcase for the in-the-moment creative process offered here. Berberoglu switches between acoustic and electric baglamas (saz) and the cura -- a Turkish instrument closest to mandolin and ukelele. Saz introduces this jam on the modal tip. Fleet single-string runs flit through Middle Eastern modal overtones, Tuareg blues, rock, and Anatolian folk. Temiz and Güven lead the band in a roiling, trippy, psych-funk groove as synth, saz, electric guitar, flutes, and a ghostly harmonica flesh out this feverish dance jam. "Papatyalar" begins with a searching taqsim that Temiz and Berberoglu explore with various intervals and modal scales. Böyük's bubbling dubwise bassline and Baser's electric guitar create crazy harmonics. "Deniz Alti Rüzgasrlari" uses hypnotic drum and percussion layers atop a winding saz melody before breaking into a rockist bridge complete with a power chord vamp. The beats underneath meld Balearic, trance, and circular house rhythms. Nine-and-a-half-minutes long, "Fídaya" is easily the set's finest moment. It weds Arabic maqam, Mevlevi dance traditions, organic and synthetic beats, and swirling sonics. Berberoglu reveals his virtuosity on electric and acoustic baglama, as Baser provides support with imaginative chord runs. The classical Turkish melody is delivered with furious intensity in rounds linked by killer solos. The adventurous interplay between Güven's drums, Temiz's percussion instruments, and Böyük's bumping bass and silky electronics offer an aesthetically dazzling example of modern Asian improvised music. On the whirling "Kalenin Bedenleri" Berberoglu lays down flatpicked saz lines that channel bluegrass and jazz, revealing the virtuosity of saz master Talip Özkan as the rest of the band feverishly keeps up with trancey beats and heavily reverbed sonics. This Direct-To-Disc Sessions volume offers a visceral example of what Islandman do so well. They combine Central Asian cultural tenets, modern Western production techniques, and a command of global rhythms and ambient electronica from across the progressive spectrum. All told, they deliver energetic, compelling music played with finesse, taste, and incomparable imagination. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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Add this copy of Direct-to-Disc Sessions to cart. $49.51, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Night Dreamer.
Add this copy of Direct-to-Disc Sessions [Vinyl] to cart. $61.22, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2023 by K7.
Add this copy of Direct-To-Disc Sessions to cart. $69.56, new condition, Sold by Entertainment by Post - UK rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BRISTOL, SOUTH GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2023 by Night Dreamer.
