Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek
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About
File under
Altin Gün, Selda, Barış Manço
Free style
Turkish, folk, psych
" Bridging Berlin and Istanbul with psych folk and Anatolian heart "
The Turkish psych revival is alive and kicking, thanks to Derya Yıldırım and her international band, Grup Şimşek, producing heartfelt, saz-soul, with a modern twist. Born in Hamburg to Turkish parents, the now Berlin-based Derya Yıldırım grew up influenced by the traditional, 60s sounds of Anatolian funk. Perhaps it was inevitable that this would manifest itself in her musical outpourings.
Assembling her band of musicians from across Europe to form Grup Şimşek (which translates to ‘Group Lightening’), the musicianship bridges both east and western instrumentation, new and old. The band’s sound is rooted in Yıldırım’s trademark bağlama—the saz sounds that have come to define the Anatolian movement. Today, Yıldırım studies the bağlama at Berlin University of the Arts, constantly hardening the sound with which Grup Şimşek have gone on to record three albums, encapsulating this classic period in Turkey’s music history, layered with psychedelia and progressive rock flavors.
Grup Şimşek are just one band on the cusp of an Anatolian revival, with the likes of Altin Gün, Baba Zula, Ayyuka, amongst others, championing the sound. Unlike their contemporaries however, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek play in smoother sounds, incorporating modern psych, jazz and grooves, while eliciting traditional folk that haunts and dulcifies.
Grup Şimşek play out and reinterpret traditional songs, also showing their worth with originals. With her hypnotic vocals, Derya Yıldırım captures the spirit, heart and soul of the Anatolian scene, paying homage to such greats as Selda Bağcan, Barış Manço, and others, keeping the traditional fire burning long into the new century.