The new album by Turkish/Dutch band Altin Gün “Yol” will be released on Glitterbeat label on February 26th. This release follows 2019’s LP “Gece”, which garnered the band a Grammy Award nomination for Best Global Music Album. After earning a reputation as “essential interpreters of the Anatolian rock and folk legacy,” on this new record they’re expanding their sound to disco and synth-pop of the 1980's. They’re not declining their devotion to their national roots—take for example the first single off the album “Ordunun Dereleri” and their reimagining of another traditional Turkish folk song, a classic story about two doomed lovers. “Yol” (Road) was recorded during the three months of lockdown, when members of the band were exchanging demos online without seeing each other in person. According to the vocalist Merve Dasdemir, that probably gave the record the transnational feel.
Altin Gün was founded in 2016 by Dutch bass-guitarist Jasper Verhulst and Turkish vocalists and musicians Merve Dasdemir and Erdinç Ecevit who joined his project. Together they modelled their band on legendary 70s and 80s musicians such as Barış Manço, Erkin Koray, and Selda Bağcan, whose impact is still felt across the region. Drawing from the legacy of these artists, along with rich and diverse traditions of Anatolian and Turkish folk music, Altin Gün are not just reframing traditional sounds for a contemporary audience, but also building their own music universe. In addition they are known as an outstanding live collective with sold-out shows on three continents already.
