51³ÉÈËÁÔÆæ

Course Description

Summary

This performance ensemble will immerse participants in the distorted lutes, fuzzy guitars, swirling electronic effects, driving percussion, and wailing vocals of rock music in Turkey. Inspired by the music of Elvis Presley and Fats Domino, the earliest Turkish rock musicians began to explore the sonic possibilities of adapting western instruments and amplification to the sounds and styles of Turkish folk music while also embracing the "mind expanding" aesthetics of psychedelic rock—feedback, electronics, and intense volume. Anatolian Rock (referring to the region of Asia Minor in modern Turkey) was born. Through the 1960s and 1970s, an influential crop of Turkish and Kurdish rockers infused their now iconic music with socially conscious lyrics, often using their songs as platforms to protest government injustices and longstanding political, ethnic, and economic struggles in the country. In the sweeping and violent political turmoil of the 1970s and 80s in Turkey, several of these artists wound up in jail or in exile. In this performance ensemble, we will learn some of the major hits and lesser known gems of Turkish and Kurdish popular music, highlighting artists like Erkin Koray, Selda Bağcan, Barış Manço, Ahmet Kaya, Orhan Gencebay, Cem Karaca, Ciwan Haco, and more. We will also study examples of the current Anatolian rock revival and its relationship to contemporary Turkish politics, including the band Altın Gün and the singer-songwriter Gaye Su Akyol.