BaBa ZuLa have been making music for 30-years where they have filtered Anatolian traditions through many genres such a psychedelic rock, reggae, dub, trance and more. XXX is their latest release and builds on the moods created on their last album İstanbul Sokakları which took the listener on a slow burning and nostalgic journey through street bazaars and coastal locations that evoked Türkiye’s past. XXX weaves hypnotic arrangements of pulsing rhythms, rippling percussion, electronic swirls, and Mural Ertel’s ever-present Saz playing which is as much a voice on the record as is his singing which is often a low beguiling narration.
“Each of our albums is different. We don’t like to repeat ourselves. Many bands record subsequent albums very similar to the first. For us, each album tells a new story. Perhaps that’s why we’ve been around for thirty years”
You could be forgiven for thinking that this is a follow up to 2017’s XX but that was more influenced by adding psychedelic colours to reggae and dub. There is something darker and more brooding in their recent releases which are more mesmerising; a slow processional dance with BaBa ZuLa as the white rabbit leading the listener down into Wonderland. The three opening tracks ‘Günlüklü Koyu Havası’ (‘Daily Dark Air’ ), ‘Balkondaki Beyaz Çoraplı Kedi’ (‘The Cat in White Socks on the Balcony’ – “an everyday encounter between two cats” as a metaphor for “a surreal miniature about desire, attention and fleeting moments”) and ‘Cırtlak 9’ (‘Shrill 9’) weave their spell before ‘Kutsal Zeytin Halayı’ and ‘Otel Kaliforniya’ (video below) begin to speed things up. And yes, ‘Otel Kaliforniya’ is a deliberate play on The Eagles’ track, a “sharp satire on privatization, tourism-driven development and the commodification of public life.”
XXX closes with ‘Hak Bitmez Güç Bitee’ which follows the theme of ‘Otel Kaliforniya’ and features the voice of Hatice Kocalar, a 75-year-old villager from Türkiye’s Aegean region who is speaking out about “government policies affecting local communities and the natural environment has become emblematic of wider grassroots resistance movements”. BaBa ZuLa have always been voices of resistance, ecological justice and the fear for future generations and Murat Ertel says, “We like to call ourselves ‘sound warriors.’ We want to give people energy and hope, even when the opponent seems stronger. Despite the serious topics, humour is always present in our music”
Despite the recent invasion of Earth by Angine de Poitrine’s spotty Khn and Klek, microtonal music is not only the domain of space-travellers and also has a home in the hands of a master Saz player like BaBa ZuLa’s Murat Ertel. Live they can turn a room full of people into bouncing crocodile following them round the room when they descend into the audience unplugged (as they did when I saw them in 2017 at Under the Bridge in Fulham, London). Their fluid command of traditional, psych, rock and reggae has been one of the reasons people like the Mad Professor, Jaki Liebezeit of Can, members of Faust and Einstürzende Neubauten and Warren Ellis of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have sought them out for collaboration.
The world of BaBa ZuLa is a rich and rewarding one. XXX is not a long album but it feels packed with ideas and sounds that bring you into their entertaining and engrossing world of music and message. As band member Levent Akman says, “We believe that music can still make a difference. That’s why we keep creating. Music won’t solve all the world’s problems, but it can raise awareness, give strength and remind people that they are not alone. And that’s a lot”.
BaBa ZuLa are: Levent Akman: spoons, percussion, machines, toys / Murat Ertel: electric saz, other stringed instruments, vocals, theremin, drums / Ümit Adakale: darbuka, percussion / Esma Ertel: vocals
BaBa ZuLa: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube
Released through Glitterbeat Records: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube
Review by Paul F Cook
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