[engl] Edip Akbayram's a frail guy who spent his childhood unable to walk, but once he grew up he was on Istanbul TV in a whitey- fro and knee length colored robes. Akbayram's voice is big & open, and it took him all across Turkey at the height of Anatolian psychedelia. This 1st album collects precious singles from 1972- 74, with dark melodies that descend in loose spirals, seemingly forever. Tunes taken from mystic Sufi poets who played the ba?lama, but retrofitted with hard plowing electric bass lines, funky drums, fuzz- wah guitars and keyboards. Remastered sound, insert / booklet with photos and liner notes by Angela Sawyer (Weirdo Records).

[engl] As Turkey's political factions turned more and more violent in the late 1970s, Buscemi- eyed Edip Akbayram was nearly beaten up by rioting audiences for daring to sing about rural points of view that were naturally critical of Istanbul's political leaders. This second album of Anatolian psychedelia, originally released in 1977, showed defiance even in its gatefold art, with a drawing of the band members seeming to grow straight out the ground, covered in plant tendrils. Akbayram poached members of Mo?ollar and Bari? Manço's Kurtalan Ekspres to get the best fuzz breaks and hammond slams & put 'em straight in your ears. The band also tried out some mixes that pushed the vocals or a particular instrument way up front, and of course long, low, reverberant welcomes from Edip's echo- covered voice. Remastered sound, insert / booklet with photos and liner notes by Angela Sawyer (Weirdo Records). Vinyl comes with exact reproduction of the original gatefold pop- up sleeve.

[engl] Third album by Turkish psychedelic singer Edip Akbayram, originally released in 1982. This later 3rd album really ramps up the silly synthesizers. You'll hear whooshy 80s Rolands, vocals run through a harmonizer, and tons of totally tubular bass popping, and it all makes it darned easy to hear just where the western intros and breaks stop. Ever wish Knight Rider's Kitt could drive to Istanbul? Take a ride on cheesy synthesizers with Edip at the wheel!

[engl] B- sides from hard to find 45s that never made onto albums during singer Edip Akbayram's psychedelic period with the awesome Dostlar as backing band. A tiny guy with a great big, easy, open voice, Akbayram glues together disparate arrangements that put ridiculous analog synthesizers up next to mystic poetry that's hundreds of years old. Anatolian melodies are enveloped by western touches, like breakdowns for cosmic whispering, slammin' organ, or wild phasing effects on folk instruments that were never meant to support them. Remastered sound Insert / Booklet with liner notes by Angela Sawyer (Weirdo Records) and photos

[engl] Turkey's recent musical history is littered with bottled blondes who put on a lot of eyeliner, made a few singles & then disappeared. And since the mid- 1970s, those twin queens Ajda Pekkan and Sezen Aksu have maintained a semi- rivalry while bulldozing their way over pop charts & sales counters. Piles of Turkish psych & folk reissues have hit the west over the past few years, and yet how many have given the luscious ladies of Anatolia their due? So go beyond Selda, and get your gal power on. It's time to steam up your windows with this foxy arabesque singer who's a real- life Stevie Nicks next- door. Waka waka funk rhythm guitar, sweet little organs, pumping bass, winging & buzzy synths, electric baglama, syrupy disco strings, and Akkor's little swallowed yodels... It's all here on Istanbul Plak singles released from 1971- 75. Whether she's covering European hits that have Turkish lyrics retrofitted, or ghost voicing a musical scene in a high- profile movie, Akkor often sings like outbursts of tears or frenzy are just beyond her words. And seeing how she always played second fiddle to her classier, more famous sister Gönül, maybe Kâmuran just felt like a little drama was in order, mmm? You might have caught a couple of scant cuts on compilations like ''Turkish Freakout Vol. 2'' or ''Istanbul 70'', but there's way more to discover, and now you can.

[engl] In Turkey, psychedelia wasn?t just some fleeting fad. Fuzzed- out guitar shredding genuinely intersected with some of the goals of traditional folk & classical music. As a result, even former twist singers & folk balladeers explored some fascinating & wild territory. Meet Alpay, the soccer player turned lawyer turned singer who started matching local lyrics to Western arrangements even before the mid- 60s countrywide battle of the bands concerts. These early 70s singles lay down doleful Anatolian melodies, and they're simply soaking in heavy & wah- ed out guitar solos. If you're ready to go beyond Baris & Erkin, this is the perfect spot. Remastered Sound, insert / booklet with liner notes by Angela Sawyer (Weirdo Records)

[engl] Famous for their matching, colourful suits and always–happy smiles, Beyaz Kelebekler (White Butterflies) were a mixed–gender Turkish band very popular during the ’70s. They released one album plus numerous 45s in Turkey and other countries like Holland and Italy. In 1976 during the last day of their European Tour, just after one gig in Cologne, Beyaz Kelebekler visited a studio of a friend which was still in construction. They decided to record a few songs, just for fun and for testing the new studio equipment. It was a very basic, one take recording, using an 8–channel mixer, a few mics and a reel–to reel tape machine. The result was an amazing example of Anatolian psych–funk, featuring wah–fuzz guitar, flute, heavy drums, joyous male / female vocals... Unreleased until now, we present the first ever release of these surprising recordings, rescued from the only surviving cassette tape. Colour insert with photos.

[engl] Years before Baris and even before the fame of Erkin Koray, Erol’s flamboyant outfits and spontaneous behaviour brought a youthful, pop–oriented world to Turkish audiences. Here’s his first proper album from 1976. While not exactly psychedelic, Erol’s album shows how far the mix of Anatolian melodies and Western production could reach and you can find here some great examples of Turkish pop spiced with psych, disco and funk.

[engl] Turkish guitar master CENGIZ COSKUNER with an album full of exotic / oriental belly dance instrumental sounds. Originally released in 1984, here’s the first ever vinyl reissue.

[engl] Turkish Bar or Bengi folk dancing requires approximately 100 people to do properly, and it helps if a lot of them are eating wedding cake. You put your arms around the shoulders of the people on either side of you, and then stomp around in a circle, facing in and kicking the air, until everybody is exhausted and happy. Far away from any folklore festivals, Derdiyoklar hand- built the soundtrack to this dancing as it was drunkenly executed by luckless German- Turkish immigrants in the fashion- insensitive 80s. And though the band had only two members, they decided electric saz, synthesized drums, cimbalom, and sheep sound effects were all needed to get the job done. Who could argue? This tinkly and psychoactive album, full of uniquely odd overdubs and buzzy, flanged- out guitar solos, can now be yours. First time ever reissue. Sound taken from mastertapes, insert with liner notes, 180gr vinyl.

[engl] More demented, brain-damaging Turkish electro-saz & synth drums galore by the mighty Derdiyoklar duo, originally released in 1984! Anadolu Pop doesn’t get weirder than this! These two Turkish guys armed with electro-saz, guitar, drums and synthetizers were hitting the Turkish market in Germany where they lived, playing their sets of traditional flavoured electro-folk in weddings and circumcision feasts for Turkish emigrants in Germany. That crazy is the story, that crazy is their sound!!!

[engl] Anadolu Pop doesn?t get weirder than this! Back in 1979, two Turkish guys armed with electro- saz, guitar, drums and synthetizers were hitting the Turkish market in Germany where they lived, playing their sets of traditional flavoured electro- folk in weddings and circumcision feasts for Turkish emigrants in Germany. That crazy is the story, that crazy is their sound!!!

[engl] Elektro Hafiz is a musician, born and raised in Istanbul, who has recently moved to Cologne, Germany. Already well known in Turkey, he can look back on 20 years as a professional musician. With his former band ‘Fairuz Derin Bulut’ he created and released three albums, which represent a milestone in the Anatolian psychedelic rock music of the 2nd generation in Turkey. Elektro Hafiz has shown and proven openness to various and sometimes contradicting music styles by mixing eastern instruments like the electric saz, darbuka and finger cymbals with different genres. He loves to play with contrasts and create new compositions from there. This open and experimental approach is still his trademark, as well as his charming provocative style that is complemented by a healthy dose of humour. His diverse compositions are heavily influenced by his Anatolian roots, which are reflected in his instrument of choice, the electric saz, in most of his pieces. A further ingenious characteristic of him is using the electric guitar as a rock instrument while at the same time applying the Anatolian harmony system (scale). “Elektro Hafiz", his first solo album, showcases a more open and progressive format to his main base influence - the anatolian psychedelic music. On this album he played a lot of different instruments by himself and also invited artists from different countries such as Kenya, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Austria and Germany to contribute for this production. There are nine songs on this album. Except for one cover song, all lyrics and the music are written by Elektro Hafiz. All songs will be additionally released as dub / remix versions done by different producers and DJs on a separate album, which is released at the same time, separately.

[engl] A dubmix release of the debut-album of Elektro Hafiz, with mixes from: Grup Ses, Fedayi Pacha, Komadub, Onofon, Alpadub, F.D.U., Hey Douglas. The legacy of the pioneers of Anatolian Rock in a new format: eclectic psychedelic sounds, backed by Dub, Anatolian Funk Rock, Electric Baglama and Progressive rhythms. Elektro Hafiz is a musician, born and raised in Istanbul, who has recently moved to Cologne, Germany. Already well known in Turkey, he can look back on 20 years as a professional musician. With his former band ‘Fairuz Derin Bulut’ he created and released three albums, which represent a milestone in the Anatolian psychedelic rock music of the 2nd generation in Turkey. Elektro Hafiz has shown and proven openness to various and sometimes contradicting music styles by mixing eastern instruments like the electric saz, darbuka and finger cymbals with different genres. He loves to play with contrasts and create new compositions from there. This open and experimental approach is still his trademark, as well as his charming provocative style that is complemented by a healthy dose of humour. His diverse compositions are heavily influenced by his Anatolian roots, which are reflected in his instrument of choice, the electric saz, in most of his pieces. A further ingenious characteristic of him is using the electric guitar as a rock instrument while at the same time applying the Anatolian harmony system (scale). “Elektro Hafiz", his first solo album, showcases a more open and progressive format to his main base influence - the anatolian psychedelic music. On this album he played a lot of different instruments by himself and also invited artists from different countries such as Kenya, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Austria and Germany to contribute for this production. There are nine songs on this album. Except for one cover song, all lyrics and the music are written by Elektro Hafiz.

[engl] Debut album, released in 1977, by one by one of Anatolian Rock’s most sheerly talented vocalists. Turkish psych–rock with some amazing funk drums and fuzzed out guitars. Ersen spent time in Mogollar, 3 Hür–El, and Cem Karaca’s Kardaslar before cementing his reputation as the frontman of Dadaslar. His voice can range from one that has a soft edge (where he swallows his notes a bit, like a muezzin would), to growling belt–outs that could have fronted any 80s metal act. Ersen and his ever–changing backup band wore Slade haircuts and loud jackets with rainbow pants or silver platform shoes, and they grew their moustaches just as long as the Beatle bangs of their Western counterparts. Get the synth–wizz, funk breaks and fuzzed–out prog riffage behind one of Anatolian Rock’s best vocalists! Original gatefold artwork, insert with liner notes by Angela Sawyer (Weirdo Records), remastered sound.

[engl] His very last name, Dinleten, means ’listen’. So back to Anatolia once more and hear the unhinged guitar and electric baglama behind Turkish psychedelia’s charismatic singer Ersen. He was discovered by Cem, spent time in Mogollar, and 3 Hür–El, and even switched backing bands with Cem before finally hitting the charts with his own group Dadaslar. There’s loads of B–sides and burly moves on these 70s singles which make his second LP, released in 1978. Wicked funk drums, fuzzy guitars, organs and the poweful voice of Ersen. Includes "Zalim", the killer psych–funk track made famous by the Gaslamp Killer’s edit. Original artwork, insert with liner notes by Angela Sawyer (Weirdo Records).

[engl] Oft overlooked for over half a century while misfiled amongst exploit bellydance records and holidaymaker souvenirs this one-off twelve track album is the only existing full-length record by the best-kept mutant musical secret of the Armenian American diaspora, oud pop maestro Charles ‘Chick’ Ganimian.One of the earliest examples of any kind of recorded fusion between rhythm heavy pop music and traditional Turkish music, Ganimian’s developments in New York City - with his sadly unrecorded turk jerk combo The Nor-Ikes (New Dawn) combo – ran almost simultaneously alongside the rising Anadolou Pop scene in Turkey, resulting in his short lived powerhouse of Kif proto-rock under the changing names of Ganim’s Asia Minors, Ganimian & His Orientals and Ganimian & His Oriental Music Orchestra. Combining a line-up of mostly unknown musicians from his local community (where he was worked as a butcher), Ganimian, in a short unison with ATCO records, was fortunate enough to accommodate jazz guitarist Al Schactman as part of his studio personnel (launching the career of this Nina Simone regular) as well as French born Armenian folk singer Onnik Dinkjian and reid player Steve Bogoshian (both from the band The House Of The Seven Uncles) as well as the esteemed Turkish raised Kanun player Ahmet Yatman. As one of the very few early American recorded authentic Middle Eastern fusion record Come With Me To The Casbah has piqued a refined interest in a new generation of progressive world music collector resulting in a distinct drought in original Ganimian pressings on the collectors’ market earning Chicks name a rising placeholder on the want lists of DJs, vinyl hounds and ethno psychedelia collectors.This LP includes all of Ganimians recordings including the rare singles for Atco and East West which sit awkwardly next to bizarre and unique takes on popular American standards enhancing the exciting freak factor of this record which simply could not be made by today’s stifling self-aware anti-standards. Aside from rare (poorly recorded) private family tapes this album is the only chance to hear the music of this lost enigma of early world music, Eastern fusion and a missing kink in the fabric of New York pop music history captured before his short stint as an exotic Herbie Mann sideman which proceeded his migration into obscurity and his well-imparted tragic struggle with alcohol dependency depriving pop culture of a forward thinking pioneer who paved the way for the more credible exponents of the cross-continental Indo fusion enigma such as John Berberian and the later well pruned hard rock efforts of The Devils Anvil.

[engl] Metamorphoses is the debut album by electronic duo God is God for Hamburg-based imprint Bu- reau B. The duo consists of Turkish musician, producer and Kinship label founder Etkin Çekin and Belarussian multi-instrumentalist, composer singer and Not Not Fun alumni Galina Ozeran who star- ted making music after a chance meeting in Berlin in 2015. Metamorphoses is the product of their second ever improvisational encounter: an undulating, avant-pop journey of low-BPM twists and turns guided by Ozeran’s synthesizers, Russian and English vocals and Çekin’s ethereal production and guitar sensibility. Central to the album’s musical narrative are both contemporary dancefloor- adjacent electronics and Eastern European and Turkish psychedelic electronic traditions – all filte- red through the prism of Çekin and Ozeran’s respective musical histories.

[engl] Some of the rarest records from The Eas’ts best kept secret songbird Googoosh. Lost songs from the forbidden discography of “Iran’s Daughter” comprising forgotten B-Sides and mythical LP tracks. Unrequited love songs and poetic premonitions of impeding cultural heartbreak meet radical Arabic takes on jazz, bossa, orch funk and early disco fuelled by generations of Persian poetic verse. The East’s best kept secret? Despite her reputation as one of the most well- known and beloved songbirds from the East, Faegheh Atashin AKA Googoosh is, ironically, also the performer of some of the rarest, heart-melting pop music in the world. Originally pressed on the diminishing vinyl format her 1970’s songs and performances were banned after the Iranian revolution of 1979 resulting in her records being forbidden, hidden and destroyed. Some of Googoosh’s most famous songs have since become anthemic amongst global Iranian communities, but in darker contrast dozens of 45 B-side’s and album tracks remain as distant and nonexistent memories in the mind of the most devout fans and fastidious vinyl librarians. Finders Keepers’ first Googoosh release focuses on a handful of these lesser- spotted tracks - the ones that didn’t get away. Googoosh’s voice conveys an urgency and yearning which is arguably unrivalled under the often disposable femme-pop umbrella. Mid-tempo pulsating pop peons awash with expertly orchestrated strings (akin to that of some of the most intense European film composers) provide the backdrop for unrequited love songs revealing poetic premonitions of impeding cultural heartbreak. Other tracks combine unlikely jazz, bossa and early disco influences unconsciously inducing political paranoia from the era’s brooding anti-pop regime. Boasting a deep-rooted history of Persian poetic verse and indelible Arabic songcraft these lost tracks, from the artist known amongst Farsi speaking fans as ‘Iran’s Daughter,’ have most certainly, finally earned a place in the hearts of “outernational” music lovers like yourself.

[engl] Turkish ancient melodies get an 80s electro–funk treatment on this obscure album, originally released on the Diskotür label in 1985. Probably the work of an "ad–hoc" studio band (nothing is known about the musicians), this is a delirious mix of exotic melodies and lots of analog synths, cheap Atari–styled electronic effects, distorted guitar and 80s beatboxes.