Altin Gun – Yol Music CD

Review

Despite being a psych-rock sextet known for rejuvenating traditional Turkish folk songs, Altin Gün arrived into 2020 with maximum commercial momentum. Their second LP, Gece, earned a Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album, and they spent 2019 playing major U.S. festivals and opening for Tame Impala, the kings of modern psychedelia. But the Year From Hell didn't accommodate their big plans: Major gigs were scrapped, and quarantine forced them to alter their writing approach to the less organic file-swap method. Altin Gün's existence is built on the concept of reanimation—and, fittingly, they used their discomfort as a catalyst for creative change, leaning more heavily on synths and electronics. Yol isn't a wall-to-wall shift: Several centerpiece cuts, including the disco barnburner "Maçka Yolları" and bombastic "Sevda Olmasaydi," are driven by Erdinç Ecevit's electric (and frequently wah-smothered) saz, a Turkish stringed instrument. And his vocal dynamic with keyboardist Merve Dasdemir—they often sing together, mostly trading leads—maintains the dark-light balance of Gece. It's not like they swapped out amps for computers. But Yol, mixed by Belgian electronic act Asa Moto, neatly intersects with the evolution of Tame Impala's fourth LP, The Slow Rush: It's hookier and more danceable but also somehow weirder. Fizzy digital percussion and comically dated synth squiggles brighten up the lockstep groove of "Yüce Dağ Basında," and Dasdemir takes a soul balladeer turn over the twinkly ambiance of "Arda Boylari." They save the most jarring surprise for last: "Esmerim Güzelim," a curveball of polished electro-pop. The pandemic deflated Altin Gün's schedule—but not their resilience.

— Ryan Reed, Relix

Product Details

Amsterdam's Altin Gn have built a strong reputation for fusing past and present to make brilliantly catchy, upbeat pop music, as seen with their Grammy-nominated second album, Gece. Yol, their third album in as many years, continues that trend; while unveiling a number of sonic surprises in their continued exploration of Anatolian rock and Turkish psych-folk.