Anadolu Havasi

Turkish Soundtracks of the 70’s.

This episode of Anadolu Havasi revolves around the golden decade of the Turkish pop – rock music: the 70’s. This was the decade wherein the recognizable sound of Turkish pop was perfected. Turkish folk melodies were casted in the mold of Western pop, without losing its Turkish character. Artists used Turkish and Western instruments next to one another and combined new technology with traditional instruments. The central instrument of the Anadolu-rock became the bağlama. This ancient string instrument got a modern sound through electrical amplification and became known as the electrosaz. The electrosaz took in a place that can be compared to the electrical guitar in Western pop music.

The rise of Anadolu-rock went proportionally to the rise of the political and societal unrest in Turkey. The economy went downhill and millions of Turks migrated from the countryside to the cities. There they lived in illegally constructed neighbourhoods in poor conditions. Unstable governments succeeded one another in a rapid pace and the pressure of left, right and religious groups increased. Especially left and right paramilitary groups clashed. The political violence costed the lives of thousands.
The unrest and anger in Turkey trickled down into the music. Artists like Cem Karaca and Selda Bağcan became the heroes of the left. With contemporary texts – or with ancient poems – they challenged injustice. In the Turkish seventies everything came together, old and new, politics and music, rock and folk. Listen this episode to these soundtracks of the Turkish seventies.

Playlist

1.Cem Karaca – Dadaloğlu
2.Cem Karaca – Acı Doktor
3.Selda Bağcan – Adaletin bu mu Dünya?
4.Selda Bağcan – Meydan Sizindir
5.Barıs Manço – Lambaya Püf De
6. Barıs Manço – Gönül Dağı
7. Erkin Koray – Karlı Dağlar
8. Erkin Koray – Cemalım
9. Orhan Gencebay – Nereden Bileceksin
10. Orhan Gencebay – Batsın bu dünya
11. Cem Karaca – Bir Mayıs