Sehr-I Huzun

Manga - Şehr-i Hüzün
Reviewed by Sadie O., 8/26/09
Metal/hip hop/orchestral-cinematic mashup from Turkey. This second release seems to have a lot more orchestral-cinematic (and shoegaze) and less Turkitude than their first (in our World collection) – possibly because it’s on Sony? They seem to have also added keyboards, which tend to be a bit less unique sounding than their previous hardcore scratch ‘n’ sniff. Still some brilliant moments.
All in Turkish. I like tracks 5, 13, and esp. 9 best.
1. Gün Doğumu (goon doe’ummu) 1:55
melodramatic, low-key piano, flute, big chords toward end.
2. Beni Benimle Bırak (benny bennimleh buhrak) 3:30
**a bit orchestral, a bit metalish, a little scratching, midtempo swingy groove, pretty singing.
3. Dünyanın Sonuna Doğmuşum (doonyanun sonuna
doe’mushum) 4:20
***groovy little Atari noises and beats, hip hop vocals.
4. Cevapsız Sorular (sevapsiz sorular) 4:32
rather depressed piano line, pretty singing, a bit of atmospherics.
5. Evdeki Ses (evdeki ses) 3:06
****cinematic opening chord, then funky metal hip hop (cover of a big Turkish hip hop hit from years ago.)
6. Her Aşk Ölümü Tadacak (herr ashk oiloomoo tadacak) 3:43
**bit of keyboard, then kind of loping hard rock, pretty singing.
7. Şehr-i Hüzün (sehr-uh hoozoon) 1:03
**chimes and mystery, exotic orchestra and piano. Foreboding instrumental interlude.
8. Hayat Bu İşte (hiyat boo ishte) 5:08
**subdued piano trills, funky backbeat, orchestra, pretty and dramatic singing.
9. Üryan Geldim (oorhan geldim) 4:42
*****slow metal and chimes, a bit exotic, hip hop vocals. Great total package.
10. Tek Yön Seçtiğin Tüm Yollar (tek yoin sechti’un toom yollar) 4:02
***bit metal and melodrama, pretty singing and hip hop vocals.
11. Gecenin Ritmi (gecinin ritmi) 1:27
**chimes and atmosphere, funky scratching, instrumental interlude
12. Hepsi Bir Nefes (hepsee bihr nefes) 4:43
***vocal intro, then big metal chords and scratching. Then a bit that sounds like an old French art film or something, more changes in mood.
13. Sessizlik Sona Erdi (sessizlik sona airdi) 3:00
****bit of atmospherics, then thrash ‘n’ scratch, hip hop vocals. Love the bass on this.
14. Kaçamak Faslı (kachamak fasluh) 1:02
*a bit downtempo and relaxed scratching and funky groove, instrumental interlude.
15. Alışırım Gözlerimi Kapamaya (alushurum goizlerimi kapamaya) 5:54
**piano and orchestra, a bit of pompous guitar, pretty singing and hip hop vocals – odd combination, mostly very pretty.
16. Gün Batımı (goon batumuh) 6:54
Actually a short instrumental coda, silence, then 3:33 from end a bit of phone conversation and some kids talking and relaxed groove.