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FUSION MUSIC | ISTANBUL 68 | TRAVELLER | DECEMBER 09 Clockwise from here, Babylon wows its fans with its programme of folk/fusion/jazz and electronic bands, such as Kolektif I ˙ stanbul
PHOTOS © SERKAN TAYCAN ONSTAGE, ALEXANDER HACKE, a heavily moustachioed Berliner in a jumpsuit and sailor hat, is manning the DJ decks, a doll-like American woman is singing, there are two belly dancers, several Turkish musicians playing traditional instruments, and the stage effects include heavy-metal lighting and a strange black-and-white fi lm of a clown. The show is aptly named Ship of Fools and it’s just another night at Babylon, I ˙ stanbul’s most eclectic nightspot and the epicentre of the city’s anarchic music scene. Stretching from Taksim Square to Tünel is I ˙ stiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue) the most popular shopping strip on the European side of I ˙ stanbul. Behind the main drag with its grand buildings and bland international chains, you’ll fi nd a network of lanes sheltering an alternative universe. Here hipster cafés, clubs, music venues like Babylon, and graffi ti art happily co-exist with more traditional backgammon boards and stray cats. I ˙ stanbul is a youthful city; its population hovers at just over 12 million and the average age is around 28. The number of teenagers alone suggests why I ˙ stanbul is undergoing one hell of a musical renaissance. BACK HOME IN Berlin, and presumably out of the jumpsuit, Alexander Hacke says: “I ˙ stanbul is in the hands of the young. Music in Turkey has a completely different weight and importance. The capital in particular consumes and cherishes it.” Hacke produced the fi lm score for the Turkish-German fi lm Head On and collaborated with its director Fatih Akin on the Turkish music documentary Crossing the Bridge. He is part of an international network of musicians collaborating with a new breed of Turkish artists. “Some cities get their time in the spotlight – in Berlin it was in the 1980s and with the new millennium, a window opened in I ˙ stanbul and things fell into place. [Geographically] it is aligned for a clash of cultures and progress happens because of the possibilities for friction between cultures. They feed on each other. It’s the opposite of purism – it’s not a monoculture.” At the epicentre of this anti-purism is Ahmet Ulu˘g, co-owner of three interconnected music businesses in I ˙ stanbul, including Babylon nightclub and Doublemoon Records, an imprint that is to I ˙ stanbul’s fusion music scene what, say, Blue Note Records was to jazz. Citing I ˙ stanbul’s historic connections that stretch from the Mediterranean to China, Ahmet says: “I ˙ stanbul is at the centre of the world. This cosmopolitanism is what makes the sound of I ˙ stanbul unique. We are open to both the East and the West.” Founded in 1998, Doublemoon Records “is dedicated to spreading the cultural tapestry that is the city’s sound around the world”. This means unlikely yet magicalsounding combinations ranging from Sufi -electronica to gypsy funk, oriental hip-hop and Anatolian blues. Many of I ˙ stanbul’s rising stars of fusion music are signed by Doublemoon, and its artists perform at Babylon alongside the best and most eclectic local musicians and their international collaborators. For visitors, Babylon “I THINK MY MUSIC TELLS THE STORY OF TURKEY AS A WHOLE” FUSION MUSIC | ISTANBUL ★ ISTANBUL’S FIVE FUSION CLASSICS ★ Turkey’s Eminem “God punished hip-hop with me.” So goes a line by Ceza, Turkey’s answer to Eminem. Anyone who has struggled to pronounce the multi-syllabic Turkish word for “thank you” (tes˛ekkür ederim) without coming up for air will be in awe of his machine-gun staccato on Rapstar, the album that launched him. myspace.com/ceza ★ Acoustic Meets Electronic Mercan Dede’s (pictured) album Su (Water) is the perfect choice for crossing from Europe to Asia in a ferry on the Bosphorus. mercandede.com ★ Statements in Song Sung in her Kurdish mother-tongue, Aynur Dogˇan’s album Keçe Kurdan (Kurdish Girl) is a signpost in the struggle for democratic freedom in Turkey. It was a hit when released on label Kalan Müzik. myspace.com/aynurdoganfans ★ Essential Collection The recent I ˙ stanbul Twilight compilation is a crash-course in Turkish fusion music, featuring tracks by the Taksim Trio, Burhan Öçal & Trakya All Stars, Baba Zula, the Orient Expressions and more. ★ Ground-Breaking Documentary Crossing the Bridge: the Sound of I ˙ stanbul was a long-time dream for director Fatih Akin, but it wasn’t until he won a Golden Bear for Head On at the Berlin Film Festival that he could fund this remarkable music documentary. DECEMBER 09 | TRAVELLER | 69
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