[coll]: Made in Turkey (Soulstar)
Reviewed by Sadie O., 10/18/06
Huge compilation of popular Turkish music of every type. This was a major seller in Istanbul when we were there in Sept. 06, and it’s startlingly eclectic. CD I tends more towards the trad/Arabesque side of Turkish popular music (not just pop music), and CD II is more modern and includes lots of experiments with different musical styles. About the only thing missing is heavy metal (although Turkey does have plenty of that…)
Songs tend to run together, so you can put it on continuous play if you want.
No FCCs. Lots here for all tastes. My faves are tracks 7, 9, 10, 14 on CD II (26, 28, 29 and 33 on Zookeeper)
CD I: Mondo Alla Turca
1. *very trad Arabesque instrumentation, mellow and lovely, no percussion until last minute or so.
2. *Downtempo, swingy smooth syncopated groove with a bit of harp and pretty, jazzy female vocals.
3. **downtempo and cool like beat poetry, with hand drums and bass – male vocals reminiscent of imam’s call to prayer. Interesting and trance-y.
4. **trumpet and muffled male vocals, then midtempo funky-jazzy groove, male spoken word and some female vocals in English.
5. *Pretty soprano female vocals and acoustic guitar, somewhat downtempo pop lament with prominent acoustic bass.
6. **Starts with circus march, then oom-pah waltz, female vocals, alternately conspiratorial and dramatic.
7. ***Funky midtempo soul makossa groove, female vocals.
8. ***midtempo funky beat with female vocals and Spanish guitar/oud.
9. somewhat uptempo smooth Latin jazz with syncopation and female vocals. Well done, but a bit smooth for my tastes. Nice bit of drums at end, though.
10. *Midtempo, folky feel with what sounds like a dulcimer, acoustic instruments, male vocals.
11. *Trad plucked instrument, deep and emotional female vocals, no drums.
12. **Flutes and heartbeat, ethereal, electronica after first minute, downtempo shuffle with bloops, exotic and spacey. Female vocals.
13. **pretty plucked instrument and horns, downtempo and languid Arabesque instrumental.
14. *solo plucked instrument and deep male vocals, very traditional sounding. Occasional time and key changes, exotic.
15. *Downtempo bellydance beat and violin, female vocals with reverb, some electronica, trance-y and exotic.
16. **Rubber band pop funk with bits of Turkish Arabesque and electronica. Just odd enough to be amusing.
17. **Guitar intro, part Arabesque, part rock. Midtempo belly dance beat after 1:20, male vocals, laid back harem groove. Jazzy bass solo near end.
18. **Turkish remake of the well-known Mozart number. Sweet and fun.
19. *apparently from the 20’s or 30’s, fuzzy sounding with elements of big band swing. Interesting – one for anyone who likes odd stuff.
CD II: Bosporus Express
20. 4:23 hand drums and orchestral pop with dramatic female vocals.
21. 4:36 **cool midtempo percussion, male vocals with definite flamenco leanings, sexy female vocals, a bit of electronica.
22. 4:10 ***circus ska (don’t know how to describe it), goofy lyrics in French and English.
23. 4:04 ***somewhat uptempo bellydance/rave, cool oud and other Arabesque instrumentation.
24. 3:33 *old school Turkish pop, orchestral, male vocals. Some very trad elements.
25. 3:22 **downtempo hip hoppish beat with orchestra and highly dramatic female vocals.
26. 4:31 ****knocking and spoken Spanish soap opera vocals, then great mix of midtempo Reggaeton and Turkish pipes. Totally unique!
27. 3:49 **bit of a rave beat, but lots of cool percussion over it, Turkish pop male vocals.
28. 4:00 ****slightly silly dancehall intro, then great Turkish dancehall reggae (remake of a big hit from a couple years back) This one should get you up and bouncing…
29. 3:02 ****hyperspeed violin, drumming chanting – very manly man descendant-type stuff, unique and hard to describe – just play it!
30. 4:36 **bellydance beat and some kind of bagpipes alternates with midtempo rave beat. Male lead vocals.
31. 4:26 uptempo electronic dance groove, male vocals, very pop.
32. 4:18 **big upbeat drums, very cinematic, macho.
33. 6:47 ****midtempo dubby reggae, English vocals, Turkish instrumentation. Cool mash-up of styles! Great horns, too.
34. 4:22 *somewhat uptempo hip shaker with handdrums and harmonium, overwrought male vocals.
35. 4:20 **drones and finger cymbals, slightly uptempo, very traditional yet trance-dancey. No vocals.
36. 4:05 **midtempo Turkish pop/Arabesque with female vocals.
37. 4:00 **midtempo Arabesque, female vocals.
38. 3:20 ***starts with phone ringing, then midtempo Turkish hip hop mixed with trad pop song, male vocals, very assured chorus. Odd!