It took a while to get it happening but I finally got on the Shiver me Timbers radio show and played some Erkin Koray tracks for Brisbane's 4zzz listeners. Masters Peel and Hanson run the most professional radio show that 4zzz has ever had. 4zzz is widely regarded as the punkest FM station in the world. Punk is at it's very core. It refuses to give in to the left or the right, it's very rejection of discipline has served as a shield against copping out or crapping out.
What Masters Peel and Hanson have is an understanding of some basics that I have always wished 4zzz impress upon it's presenters. What are these basics? Avoid dead air by playing a quiet backing track, don't ask your guests questions with yes/no answers, and if you have to back announce, speak cearly and do it in the right order. Over the years I have wanted to support 4zzz more but have become so sick of waiting through music I don't like only to NOT hear the name of the song I did like!
I had a great time with Master Hanson and a bloke Called Gough as Master Peel couldn't be there. I played Bir Olasilik-Erkin Koray from Tutkusu, Inat-Erkin Koray from Elektronik Turkuler, and Denizalti Rüzgarlan-Okay Temiz from Bosporus Bridges. I described this set of tracks as Istanbullshitly good!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The whole Turkish thing
So. The Turkish singing lesson thing died in the arse at the 6th lesson. But I'm not going to go into that story. I'll just say that Feridun and I are cool now and I'm stoked that his tailoring business is working for him.
Anyway I learned a lot from him. All the pronunciation and written characters and a better sense of Turkish history. He put me onto Okay Temiz who was Erkin Koray's drummer on seminal Turkish psych-rock instrumentals like Bir Olasilik (thanks for the tip!).
Okay Temiz is also on a compilation that may be the most sought after re-issue vinyl on the planet! Bosporus Bridges - A wide selection of Turkish jazz and funk was released by TWIMO records in 2005 but someone called shenanigans on it using Turkish retrospective copyright law and the remaining stock had to be recalled and trashed(citation required). Feridun had told me about how many pirate tapes were going around when he was growing up in Istanbul. He also told me that Turkish copyright law didn't exist until the eighties.
Now I'll tell you why the above mentioned compilation is so important. It was made by obsessive Dj/Collectors using re-recordings from vinyl and tapes. An astonishing and artful achievement. It is also part of wave of re-issues of music form Turkey and the middle east and a general surge in interest in all things Turkish.
The re-issue/compilation market is growing and diversifying. Now you can follow the story of Dj collectors like Dj Franc O and his West African collecting trips, blog and blogcasts, and New York club nights. Compilation makers are no longer anonymous collectors or label appointed compilers, they are more often than not Dj's and small label owning musicians. Good Groove record store in New York is evidence of that. The shop is a focal point for a community of rare groove collectors all putting their mix-tapes out for show. They are the true inheritors of the mix-tape revolution because their music has resilience and has already passed the test. Making a truly great compilation is regarded more more as a great artistic achievement.
Anyway I learned a lot from him. All the pronunciation and written characters and a better sense of Turkish history. He put me onto Okay Temiz who was Erkin Koray's drummer on seminal Turkish psych-rock instrumentals like Bir Olasilik (thanks for the tip!).
Okay Temiz is also on a compilation that may be the most sought after re-issue vinyl on the planet! Bosporus Bridges - A wide selection of Turkish jazz and funk was released by TWIMO records in 2005 but someone called shenanigans on it using Turkish retrospective copyright law and the remaining stock had to be recalled and trashed(citation required). Feridun had told me about how many pirate tapes were going around when he was growing up in Istanbul. He also told me that Turkish copyright law didn't exist until the eighties.
Now I'll tell you why the above mentioned compilation is so important. It was made by obsessive Dj/Collectors using re-recordings from vinyl and tapes. An astonishing and artful achievement. It is also part of wave of re-issues of music form Turkey and the middle east and a general surge in interest in all things Turkish.
The re-issue/compilation market is growing and diversifying. Now you can follow the story of Dj collectors like Dj Franc O and his West African collecting trips, blog and blogcasts, and New York club nights. Compilation makers are no longer anonymous collectors or label appointed compilers, they are more often than not Dj's and small label owning musicians. Good Groove record store in New York is evidence of that. The shop is a focal point for a community of rare groove collectors all putting their mix-tapes out for show. They are the true inheritors of the mix-tape revolution because their music has resilience and has already passed the test. Making a truly great compilation is regarded more more as a great artistic achievement.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Turkish singing and Turkish songs
I am about to head over to Feriduns house for my 5th Turkish singing lesson. To be fair it's actually more of a song lesson than a singing lesson. Feridun is teaching me Turkish songs, and how to sing them. Along the way I'm learning a lot about the instruments, time signitures, the important Turkish musicians, and the fashions and traditions in Turkish music.
I mentioned in the previous post that Feridun talked about Arabesque ornamentation and I was concerned about how to sustain notes without sounding too western. Well its seems that there is another element to choosing how to sing in Turkish, the Traditional. Because we are working towards a recital and Feridun wants us to share input into the way we arrange and prepare the songs we have had to experiment with instruments, keys, and tempo's, and time signitures. Feridun has asked me if I wanted to do traditional or fusion and has indicated that we should leave the Arabesque alone. At first he said we should use guitar to accompany the songs which was OK but after a while I felt like we were just copying Ekin Koray and Baris Manco. After seeing a film clip with a saz with a capo attached I asked Feridun if he could use a capo to change the tuning of his saz to suite a song we were practicing in F. He did this and it made a great difference. The saz then produced sympathetic tones that gave me a greater sense of the traditional roots of the songs. It seems that Feriduns ideas about fusion were different to mine. I'm very familiar with guitar and he's very familiar with the saz.
We now have four songs to prepare two by Erkin Koray and two by Baris Manco. I have become more proficient at Turkish pronounciation and have been able to sing with more power in my voice. Last week Feridun suggested I sing with more "feeling" and suggested I listen to some traditonal tunes to get ideas for how to develop more emotion in my voice. I asked him if that meant I would sound more Arabesque and he pointed out that traditional emotional delivery is at the other end of the scale to Arabesque. This was an aha! moment for me.
So my challenge now is to listen and feel and continue to develop my skills at singing inTurkish. Soon we'll be ready to record some of our practices and some time in the near future Feridun may bring along his mate Steve the oud player.
I mentioned in the previous post that Feridun talked about Arabesque ornamentation and I was concerned about how to sustain notes without sounding too western. Well its seems that there is another element to choosing how to sing in Turkish, the Traditional. Because we are working towards a recital and Feridun wants us to share input into the way we arrange and prepare the songs we have had to experiment with instruments, keys, and tempo's, and time signitures. Feridun has asked me if I wanted to do traditional or fusion and has indicated that we should leave the Arabesque alone. At first he said we should use guitar to accompany the songs which was OK but after a while I felt like we were just copying Ekin Koray and Baris Manco. After seeing a film clip with a saz with a capo attached I asked Feridun if he could use a capo to change the tuning of his saz to suite a song we were practicing in F. He did this and it made a great difference. The saz then produced sympathetic tones that gave me a greater sense of the traditional roots of the songs. It seems that Feriduns ideas about fusion were different to mine. I'm very familiar with guitar and he's very familiar with the saz.
We now have four songs to prepare two by Erkin Koray and two by Baris Manco. I have become more proficient at Turkish pronounciation and have been able to sing with more power in my voice. Last week Feridun suggested I sing with more "feeling" and suggested I listen to some traditonal tunes to get ideas for how to develop more emotion in my voice. I asked him if that meant I would sound more Arabesque and he pointed out that traditional emotional delivery is at the other end of the scale to Arabesque. This was an aha! moment for me.
So my challenge now is to listen and feel and continue to develop my skills at singing inTurkish. Soon we'll be ready to record some of our practices and some time in the near future Feridun may bring along his mate Steve the oud player.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Turkish singing lessons for fun, and research
On Monday night I had my first Turkish singing lesson. My new teachers name is Feridun Avar who brought along his Baglma/Saz (like a slim oud or lute). Feridun knows most of the Baris Manco and Erkin Koray songs from when he was growing up. He understands traditional as well as modern so he's great for making the connections between the two which I really appreciate.
I started the lesson by playing Feridun some of the stuff I have ben listening to on my computer. I pointed out that I really liked an Erkin Koray song 'Cemalim' that I thought I would be good at singing. The song has a simple strummed guitar riff and is in 4/4 time so I thought it wouldn't be too challenging. Feridun asked if I had a guitar as his baglama is tuned to B and Cemalim is in F. As my two cheap acoustic guitars are broken we decided to struggle on.
Feridun took me though the words in the two verses and expained that I would sing with an accent. He explained that with plenty of practice and some attention to detail I should get a passable accent. I was given a few historical pointers about Turkish like how the written language was set down after WW1. I told Feridun how I thought it looked similar to German and seemed very much like a European/Latin language.
The thing I felt strongly about was not breaking into a western vibrato to sustain notes. Feridun pointed out that I was being shy and not giving my voice enough power and personality. He said that with more experience the language in the lyrics which he had to scrawl down from memory I should find the confidence. The thing we discussed the most while practicing the two verses and one chorus was the stretched accents on certain words. As far as I could gather you can plainly sustain or stretch the note or add what Feridun called Arabesque ornamentation. He said it is best to be cautious about placement and number of ornamentations.
Long story short, Feridun will be bringing his electric guitar to later practices and says we should aim for some kind of concert/recital in the near future.
I started the lesson by playing Feridun some of the stuff I have ben listening to on my computer. I pointed out that I really liked an Erkin Koray song 'Cemalim' that I thought I would be good at singing. The song has a simple strummed guitar riff and is in 4/4 time so I thought it wouldn't be too challenging. Feridun asked if I had a guitar as his baglama is tuned to B and Cemalim is in F. As my two cheap acoustic guitars are broken we decided to struggle on.
Feridun took me though the words in the two verses and expained that I would sing with an accent. He explained that with plenty of practice and some attention to detail I should get a passable accent. I was given a few historical pointers about Turkish like how the written language was set down after WW1. I told Feridun how I thought it looked similar to German and seemed very much like a European/Latin language.
The thing I felt strongly about was not breaking into a western vibrato to sustain notes. Feridun pointed out that I was being shy and not giving my voice enough power and personality. He said that with more experience the language in the lyrics which he had to scrawl down from memory I should find the confidence. The thing we discussed the most while practicing the two verses and one chorus was the stretched accents on certain words. As far as I could gather you can plainly sustain or stretch the note or add what Feridun called Arabesque ornamentation. He said it is best to be cautious about placement and number of ornamentations.
Long story short, Feridun will be bringing his electric guitar to later practices and says we should aim for some kind of concert/recital in the near future.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Erkin Koray bio excerpts to be posted online in english
Just the other day I became facebook friends with the co-writer of the only Erkin Koray biography. His name is Gokhan Aya. I'm looking forward to reading some excerpts especially anything about the mid seventies albums Electronic Turkuler, and Turkusu.
Gokhan told me that Erkin Koray wrote an autobiography, but it really ended up as a series of opinions about the Turkey and the world.
I gave Gokhan a link to the Austrlian band from Perth called Tame Impala who are spearheading the psych rock revival in OZ.
Erkin Koray is the hardest rocking of all the East rockers. Tracks like Inat and Bir Osilik are equal to anything produced in British or American psycheldelic rock. Erkins over-driven fuzzy tone never fails to excite.
Gokhan told me that Erkin Koray wrote an autobiography, but it really ended up as a series of opinions about the Turkey and the world.
I gave Gokhan a link to the Austrlian band from Perth called Tame Impala who are spearheading the psych rock revival in OZ.
Erkin Koray is the hardest rocking of all the East rockers. Tracks like Inat and Bir Osilik are equal to anything produced in British or American psycheldelic rock. Erkins over-driven fuzzy tone never fails to excite.
A phone interview with Nate Toleetha from Shaggan
An interview with Nate Toleetha – Lead singer/guitarist of Shaggan
Interviewed by MichaelG Swifte for the Documentary 'The giants of East Rock' 10/1/09.
Why did you form Shaggan?
Interviewed by MichaelG Swifte for the Documentary 'The giants of East Rock' 10/1/09.
Why did you form Shaggan?
“We formed Shaggan in 2006 primarily because of our love of fuzz guitar…. my dad gave me his old fuzz-wah peddle he got from his big brother who played in bands here in the bay area back in the day.”
Where does your inspiration come from?
Where does your inspiration come from?
“We were getting into these guys like Erkin Koray, Baris Manco, the oud player John Berberian, and bands like Moggollar , Ec Hurel and these guys out of New York called The Devils Anvil….these guys were like the giants of rock in the Middle East!...there’s also this chick Selda Same who’s got like this super powerful voice, she’s kinda like Tracey Bonham or Skin from Skunk Anansie.”
Where does the name Shaggan come from?
Where does the name Shaggan come from?
“The name Shaggan comes from the Arabic meaning transcendent yearning through music….fuzz guitar is like the closest rock ever got to talking to God….you can see where these Islamic backgrounded guys are coming from you know with like their Sufi traditions….you listen to these guitar solo’s and it’s like shit that’s like up there!”
Tell us about your new album?
Tell us about your new album?
“So we’re about to launch our first album we hope, it's full of ginger baker style drum solo's, some nice studio effects like huge phase effects and big reverbs, we're looking for a title that is like a simple way of explaining the name....it's definitely East Rock…we want to spread the word about East Rock cos it’s like an east meets west unifying kind of thing?”
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Pitch
East Rock is one name for psychedelic and hard rock from the middle east and eastern Mediterranean primarily from the late 1960's, and 1970's. It is typified by fuzz guitar and an Eastern melodic sensibility. I first encountered East Rock through my search for similar tracks to Omar Korshids "Rakset el Fadaa". During this search I found the unusually titled "Turds on a bum ride" compilation featuring a track by John Berberian enticingly titled "The Oud and the Fuzz". I was so taken with the fuzz guitar solo in that track that I felt compelled to explore further.
What I discovered was that over the past decade many East Rock tracks has been restored from the original vinyl and tapes, and re released for music lovers and obscurantists alike. I also discovered that the majority of East Rock was produced by Turkish performers in Turkey.
My research lead me to a little known band out of Oakland(Bay Area), California, USA called "Shaggan" and their lead guitarist Nate Toleetha who is clearly the most enthusiastic exponent of East Rock in existence. After making initial contact I prepared a pitch for David Granato of Polygranate Productions. He liked the idea and gave the go ahead for me to begin preliminary interviews for a documentary which I believe will chart the rise to prominence of fuzz guitar driven rock where east and west unite.
So why blog the documentary process? The answer is laziness. This blog is in a sense 'the pitch'.
What I discovered was that over the past decade many East Rock tracks has been restored from the original vinyl and tapes, and re released for music lovers and obscurantists alike. I also discovered that the majority of East Rock was produced by Turkish performers in Turkey.
My research lead me to a little known band out of Oakland(Bay Area), California, USA called "Shaggan" and their lead guitarist Nate Toleetha who is clearly the most enthusiastic exponent of East Rock in existence. After making initial contact I prepared a pitch for David Granato of Polygranate Productions. He liked the idea and gave the go ahead for me to begin preliminary interviews for a documentary which I believe will chart the rise to prominence of fuzz guitar driven rock where east and west unite.
So why blog the documentary process? The answer is laziness. This blog is in a sense 'the pitch'.
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