Altin Gün Hits the Groove at Terminal West

Altın Gün arrived in Atlanta to find a sold-out crowd at Terminal West. That’s perhaps a little surprising as the band has a mix of Turkish and Dutch members, and the songs are sung in Turkish. The band writes new material, but most of their work are covers of Turkish folk songs which were the material used by artists in the nation’s psychedelic rock scene in the early 70’s.

How bands reach an audience is difficult to pin down, but the band has found its way through streaming on a Seattle radio station, appearing in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizards’ Gizzfest, having several songs appear in a Star Wars video game, and, of course, touring. In their young career (f. 2018), they’ve also received a Grammy nomination for best World Music album.

IThere were some in the audience who either knew the language or at least the sound of the words. For the rest, the voices of the male and female leads, Erdinç Ecevit Yıldız and Merve Daşdemir, essentially become another welcome instrument in the mix but also with a bit of color in the live delivery.

The band is heavily focused on guitar, keyboards and percussion, but some songs feature the bağlama (saz), a style of lute with 7 strings though grouped together in three sets where the strings are played together. Feed it through a delay, fuzz and other effects, and it delivers both an ethnic and familiar sound that makes their music distinctive.

The band is great fun live. The rhythm section sets a groove, and on top of that might be something danceable a la Khruangbin, keyboard parts that at times sound like Pink Floyd or the Moodies, and guitar and saz leads with a lot of fuzz and reverb. Merve Daşdemir commenting in possible astonishment, “It’s so real. Turkish music in Atlanta?” That was pointed to the crowd visibly into their set. Shortly later, “Thank you so much. This is crazy!”

Music fans with an ear for their music or wanting danceable psychedelic rock should give them a try. They’re on tour in the U.S. for the next week or so and then return in October.