Anatolian Rock (Turkish: Anadolu Rock) is a fusion of Turkish folk and rock music. It emerged during the mid-1960s, soon after rock groups such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Status Quo, and Omega became popular in Turkey and is characterized through the work of Turkish musicians like Murat Ses, Cem Karaca, Barış Manço, Erkin Koray alongside bands such as Moğollar, Kurtalan Ekspres, Mavi Işıklar, Apaşlar and Kardaşlar. Today, Anatolian Rock is a general term used to describe music derived from both traditional Turkish folk music and Rock.
History and Development
The Turkish Rock movement is believed to have begun in the 1950s with the arrival of The Shadows and developed further during the next decade with the increasing popularity of Western music acts. Along with the introduction of these bands, Turkish society began to undergo significant cultural changes, for example the growth of multi-party democracy in the region.[1] These simultaneous developments aided the growth, development, and increasing popularity of a musical style that was attached to modernity.
Following these developments, from 1966 to about 1975, psychedelic rock became extremely popular in Turkey, notably the work of guitarist Erkin Koray. After that, more progressive-styled bands garnered popularity, with older performers like Cem Karaca (Safinaz, 1978) and Moğollar (Düm-tek) moving as well towards progressive Anatolian rock style.
Related musicians and bands
As other rock genres gained popularity in Turkey, Anatolian rock also began to diversify. In the last decade, there has been a growth of Turkish rock bands such as Mor ve Ötesi, Seksendört, Gece Yolcuları, Almora, Kurban, Kargo, Duman, Vega, Çilekeş, Redd, Makine, Gripin and Manga, the latter having won the "Best Rock Band" award in almost all polls in 2005. The specific influences acting upon these bands fall into a wide range of genres, from the Seattle Sound to heavy or doom metal and rapcore. Hence, Anatolian rock refers to a fusion of a wide selection of western rock sub genres with either a traditional Turkish sound or indeed, even rock music with Turkish lyrics. Such cultural fusion led the way for rock music to develop in Turkey.
There are also individual rock performers who have gained success such as Şebnem Ferah, Barış Akarsu, Ogün Sanlısoy, Demir Demirkan, Hayko Cepkin, Aslı Gökyokuş, Nev, Aylin Aslım, Emre Aydın, Özlem Tekin and Teoman. In the end of 80s, several metal groups formed in Turkey such as; Mezarkabul(Pentagram), Diken, Volvox and Dr. Skull.
Large-scale rock festivals (past and current)
References and notes
External links
