Artist: Lalalar
Release Title: Bi Cinnete Bakar
Label: Les Disques Bongo Joe
Release Date: 6th May 2022
Location: Istanbul, Turkiye
Digital Price: 10 EURl (10.2 USD)
Length: 70mins
This debut album of the psychedelic Anatolian rock outfit Lalalar, titled Bi Cinnete Bakar, sets a damn high bar. There’s an intriguing mixture of psychedelic rock with influences from synth, traditional Anatolian music, and even some little hip hop and industrial elements creeping in there. This is a lot more than just Turkish psychedelia – this is an innovative fusion of styles that has the inspiring kind of sound that lays fertile ground for a hell of a future career. When we’re talking about new independent music from Turkiye, you absolutely should not miss Bi Cinnete Bakar.
Coming from Istanbul, Lalalar is the creative wizardry of Ali Güçlü Şimşek, Barlas Tan Özemek and Kaan Düzarat. The three mix a variety of styles here. There are pumping synth-driven tracks like Kötüye Bişey Olmaz and there are traditional/folk melodies as well as some instrumentation sprinkled throughout. Even the little jingles, thumps, and claps of percussion throughout add a nice element to this that, in its more electronic moments, makes this album almost reminiscent of Beats Antique. Sometimes there are even little hip hop-esque samples, such as at the end of Ninja Partisi which has the sounds of people fighting at the end, presumably from an old movie or TV show that gives the track a really Wu-Tang Clan vibe.
There’s a lot on offer here and listening to this album is a hell of an experience. Bi Cinnete Bakar is definitely a cohesive set of tracks, but every time you think you’ve got an idea how the album is going to sound, the next track pops up to blow you out of the water with something fresh in another direction. It never strays so far as to ruin the tone and overall soundscape of the album, and of course this is a deeply psychedelic album with scales that will cause your imagination to run rampant. However, the variety of sounds and elements on offer here make this album a real journey.
Case in point – we have guitar & percussion-oriented tracks like Yalnız Ölü Balıklar Akıntıyı Takip Eder with a heavy spoken word component. A vibrant, fuzzy dance that breaks down into breathy stories, the kind of track that creates an intense atmosphere that shifts up and down at times. This is followed by Kötüye Bişey Olmaz which almost sounds like a synthwave track with how much the keys dominate this track. There is hardly a guitar within earshot, simply driving synth and percussion with moody singing rather than the spoken word we heard only minutes ago. There is even an almost rave-like build here three minutes in that almost sounds like something DJ Hi-Tek of Die Antwoord might compose. Immediately following this track is Kılavuz Karga which contains the kind of strings, clicks and guitars that brings the album almost into the realm of a psychedelic kind of folk music. It’s wonderful.
We’re showing off the latest hot independent releases from Turkiye this week, and put simply – you cannot miss Bi Cinnete Bakar. Lalalar has created an absolute journey, a gem of a release that will easy come to the front of my mind when thinking about the best releases I’ve heard at the end of this year. There’s a limited vinyl release that you can be part of, with an orange vinyl that as of this writing has only 58/500 copies left, and a larger run of 4500 black vinyls. If you like the album as much as I do – to borrow a phrasing from our own Aaron Kobes – be righteous and support the band by picking up Bi Cinnete Bakar on vinyl. Meanwhile, if you’re in Europe they’re currently touring there, so keep an eye on their social media for dates. In the meantime, get this album blasting and you won’t regret it.
I hope you enjoy Bi Connete Bakar.
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