‘Anatolian Rock’ still rocks the town

The sound is Anatolian rock, as always, but this time he is not doing the album with his old friends, the legendary "Moğollar."

For this new album, produced by the Zula music production company, Berkay is working with another group of musicians, the Yol Arkadaşları (Travelling Companions) who used to play with Cem Karaca before his death.

The forthcoming album combines a '60s sound with Anatolian rhythms and harmonies. Once again, bağlama (saz), yaylı tamburu, and askı davul (drum) meet bass guitar, Hammond organ, percussion and distortion guitar.

Cahit Berkay and the Yol Arkadaşları have yet to name their newly established group. They say they are addressing hardcore rock listeners and what they are doing is very different from the Anatolian rock of Haluk Levent or Kıraç.

What also makes the sound on this album so special is the use of an antique Hammond organ. Cahit Berkay says he is very happy to be able to use this rare instrument and Nevzat Yılmaz plays it skillfully. Themes from eastern and central Anatolia as well as the Black Sea are explored - check out two songs called Azeri Rock and Laz Rock. Beside these ethnic rhythms, they also improvise a lot in the studio and another interesting song is Kasımpaşalı Amerikalı, dedicated to the American producers of the album Ben Mandelson and Rob Keyloch.

To explain the idea behind Anatolian pop, Cahit Berkay took us to the early '70s back to the days when Turkish youth was influenced by the youth movements of 1968 as well as the hard days of political pressure at home.

"We used to listen to groups like the Shadows and Animals and try to play like them. But when we decided to make an album we thought that it should based on our own culture. In those days we were exploring Anatolia because the generation before us ignored Anatolia and just played western music. So we founded Moğollar. At that time the word 'rock' was not used. They called it psychedelic music or beat music. So we said 'Anatolian pop' but the sound was 'rock.' We were not alone. Tülay German sang 'Burçak Tarlası.' Erol Büyükburç used traditional songs in his repertoire. In 1971 we were awarded with the Grand Prix du Disque (Academie Charles-Crosse). It was a great honour because Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones received it too. And although we took a break between 1976 and 1993 as Moğollar, three generations listened to our music and continue to do so. We are not nationalist in a racist way but we are trying to be universal and local at the same time."

The new album has a political side too. For example one song is called Kardak Zeybeği. The song is about Turkish and Greek assault boats facing off at the Kardak rocks. Being over 60, Cahit Berkay says he is tired of singing about politics and he misses more peaceful surroundings to sing about love; but since the country has so many troubles they will continue to write protest songs. Berkay also said he became more political after meeting Cem Karaca. The music they made together over the years gave him a more political consciousness. He says he never regretted his politics in spite of all the troubles along the way.

Asked why Anatolian rock is not popular these days, Cahit Berkay's answers: "The new generation does not care about Anatolian culture like us. When someone interprets Aşık Veysel in rock a song they became popular because the most loyal listeners in Turkey are 'Türkü' folk song listeners. But after 1980 and because of political pressure there was a fracture in the continuity of culture. Young people were greatly influenced by western music and forgot about their own culture. The decline in music is a result of this discontinuity."

The album will be released next month and Cahit Berkay and the group (as yet unnamed) will start touring. If you like rock music or traditional music -- or both -- don't miss out.

Moğollar: In the late '60s and '70s, Anatolian pop (later classified as Anatolian rock) group Moğollar (The Mongolians) were a pioneer rock music group in Turkey bringing new creations to Turkish music using western music, beat music, psychedelic rock, world ethnic music and traditional Turkish music together with Turkish lyrics. The authentic instruments and the originality of their compositions won them great interest from music audiences. Their intellectual approach and their rebel stand in the social and political arena made them an unforgettable band in Turkish music history. Moğollar gained legendary status after the '70s and in the '90s they gathered again for more music.

Cem Karaca (1945 - 2004): Turkish protest rock and Anatolian rock musician. The son of Armenian theater actress Toto Karaca and Azeri theater actor Mehmet Karaca, he grew up in an artistic environment and began singing as a teenager. He won initial popularity with Mehmet Soyarslan's song Resimdeki Gözyaşları (The teardrops of the picture) with the Apaşlar band in 1967. Karaca is popular for the dramatic singing style he brought to music from the theater world. Karaca drew the attention of leftists in Turkey with his political stands and protest statements but had to flee Turkey. He lived in West Germany until his return to Turkey in the early '90s.