Baba Zula’s new album "Roots" out now on Doublemoon Records

Founded in Istanbul in 1996, Baba ZuLa feautures founding members Levent Akman (percussion, rhythm machines,toys), Murat Ertel (saz and other strings,vocal,theremin), as well as darbuka player Cosar Kamci who replaced original member Emre Onel in 2005. BaBa ZuLa added live drawing artist Ceren Oykut into the mix in 2004. Her presence onstage has added an important visual aspect to BaBa ZuLa’s live performances.

Baba ZuLa go to great lengths to provide their fans with a unique live show experience. Their ritual like performances are a mixture of disciplines of art, often featuring belly dancers, elaborate costumes, poetry, theatre and live drawing, delivering viewers a tantalizing audio-visual feast.

By mixing oriental instruments such as the darbuka, electric saz, and spoons with electronics and modern sounds, BaBa ZuLa creates a sound all their own called "Oriental Dub". While a ney can represent the past Sufi-Islamic tradition, and a clarinet is the symbol of the music of the Turkish gypsies-an electric saz together with a wooden spoon can serve as musical compass to Turkish musical roots going as far back as pre-Islamic, shamanic times, through Anatolia reaches all the way up to present-day Istanbul.Despite sounds that might initially come to mind when one hears the phrase "Oriental Dub", Baba ZuLa’s music is in fact rock’n roll that rolls in a way that westerners haven’t heard since the late ’60s rock epoch. Baba ZuLa share their legacy with us through their music, a music born out of Istanbul and influenced by the memories of Istanbul passed on to them from generations past.

The group, which from the very beginning has shown great interest in featuring guest musicians and players in concerts and albums, has been accompanied by stars such as the Thracian Selim Sesler (clarinet ), the Canadian singer Brenna MacCrimmon (specialized in Balkan folk music), Alexander Hacke (Einsturzende Neubauten), Fred Frith (from Henry Cow, John Zorn, etc), Jaki Liebezeit (Can), Hüsnü Senlendirici (Clarinet ),William Macbeth(aka Bill MacBeath bass) and Ralph Carney from San Fransisco (saxophonist who worked with Tom Waits and B52’s) and the diva Semiha Berksoy (first Turkish opera singer and painter).

Baba ZuLa’s debut album, "Tabutta Rovasata = Sommersault in the Coffin" (re-released by Kadraj in 2006) includes the original music score for Dervis Zaim’s first movie of the same name released in 1996 about a car thief who returns the cars he has stolen to their original owners and falls in love with a peacock. The album also includes four songs on which the movie’s stars Ahmet Ugurlu, Tuncel Kurtiz and Aysen Aydemir contribute vocals.

Their album, "Three Plays from Seventeen pieces" (Doublemoon Records ) comprising music created for the plays "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint Exupery, "Frog Tales" by Arnold Lobel and "Kitchen Accidents" by Perihan Magden, was released in 1999. Apart from a number of other artists,Ralph Carney, Brenna McCrimmon and Selim Sesler have also taken part in this album as guest stars. Baba ZuLa has also made the music for the film "Renkli Türkçe = Colored and in Turkish", directed by Ahmet Cadirci.

Their third album "Psychebelly Dance Music released in May 2003 was mixed and mastered by Mad Professor who previously worked with Massive Attack , The Orb, Lee Perry and the like. Their fourth album "Duble Oryantal" which was released on Doublemoon Records in May of 2005, reunited them with mix-master Mad Professor, Sly & Robbie and Alexander Hacke and reflects the culmination of years of fearless musical adventuring, and as usual there’s a talented and eclectic supporting cast on board for a share of the bounty.

On 2007 release, "Roots", Baba ZuLa return to their original format as a trio . Only old friend vocalist Brenna MacCrimmon can be heard on one song. The group also show off a new perspective on their trademark sound "oriental dub" on 3 dub mixes courtesy of the group’s first trip to Japan in the Spring of 2007, where they befriended a Japanese sound engineer. Traditional Turkish influences on the album include works by important composers and lyricists in the history of Turkish music, such as Neset Ertas and Pir Sultan Abdal as well as analog recording techniques courtesy of Turkish producer Mehmet Ates.

Baba ZuLa have composed several mood-setting pieces for the silver screen over the years, their most recent release is an original score for the film "Dondurmam Gaymak". The band also appeared in the Golden Bear award winning director Fatih Akin’s film "Crossing the Bridge" that explores the sounds of Istanbul. The group also provided music for the film by recording with Einstürzende Neubauten’s Alexander Hacke.

Baba ZuLa have turned up the volume and energy levels at festivals and clubs such as the Roskilde Festival (Denmark), Sofia Film Festival (Bulgaria),shibuya club(tokyo), Klinkende Munt Festival (Belgium), Arezzo Wave Festival (Italy), Images of Middle East (multi-city Denmark tour), Cologne Triennale (Germany), Printemps de Bourges (France), simdi/Now Festival (Germany), the Boost Festival ( Netherlands) and the Venice Biennial.

Baba ZuLa’nin yeni albumu “Kokler” Doublemoon etiketiyle yayinlandi.

“Kokler”, BaBa ZuLa’nin (film muzikleri de dâhil) altinci albumu. 1996 yilinda kurulan topluluk, 11. yilini devirirken en basa donuyor ve aslina rucu ediyor. Bu topraklardan aldiklarinin kokune iniyor. Halk müzigimizden ziyadesiyle faydalanmislardi, bu kez oryantal durumdan uzaklasmadan isin en basina hatta Asya’ya donuyorlar.

Hatirlayalim: ZeN zamani Dervis Zaim’in “Tabuta Rovasata”sina müzik yapan Murat Ertel, Levent Akman ve Emre Onel topluluktan ayrilarak BaBa ZuLa’yi kurmus, yaptiklari film ve oyun muziklerinin disinda albumler ve canli performanslarla toplulugu bugüne getirmislerdi. Yakin zamanda Emre Onel’in bayragini Cosar Kamci devraldi ama bastaki ekip ruhu aynen hatta belki de iyi anlamda katlanarak devam ediyor.
BaBa ZuLa’nin canli performanslarini sahit olanlar bilir: Uc kisilik kocaman ekiple sahnede harikalar yaratirlar. Zaman zaman kendilerine birileri eslik etse de BaBa ZuLa’nin kokunde saz, vurmalilar, makineler ve bunlari idare eden maharetli eller var. “Kokler”in en onemli ozelligi, toplulugun sahne performansina cok yaklasmis olmasi. Bunun icin, bu albume, her calista biraz daha ileriye giden BaBa ZuLa’nin an itibariyle performans belgesi olarak da bakabilirsiniz. Bir nevi konser albumu ama degil. Su gercek ama: Hem canli, hem heyecanli bir album “Kokler”. Toplulugun her anlamda ruhunu kattigi, bir anda dinleyeni kavrayan ve birakmayan bir sihir demeti… Oldukca minimal ancak bir o kadar da sasirtici ve karisik. BaBa ZuLa müziginin de tanimi bu olsa gerek.
Sunu unutmamali: Son donemlerde canli performanslarin bu kadar guzel olmasinin nedenlerinden birisi toplulugun “sescisi” Mehmet Ates. Bu kadar basit degil elbet. Gorenler, elindeki karmakarisik haritanin en iyi sese ulasmak icin ince elenerek ve deneyimlerle kotarilmis kucuk bir rehber oldugunu bilirler. iste o Mehmet Ates, bu albumun de ses teknisyenligini yapti. Onu anlatmak bu yaziyi asar ama sunu soyleyelim: 1960’lardan bu yana bu isin icinde ve dünyanin her yerini gezerek kendisini gelistirmis. Isin (ve elbette sesin) güzelligi, Ates’in, ‘50’li yillarin kayit teknolojilerini ve o dönemin alet edevatini kullanmis olmasinda. Son dakikada ancak cdye aktarirken bilgisayar destegi alinmis ama o zamana kadar her sey “el yordamiyla” ilerlemis. Albumun bu kadar samimi ve sahici olmasi bundan... Bu anlamda, “Kokler”in gayet rock’n’roll bir album oldugunu rahatlikla soyleyebiliyoruz!
Sarkilari tek tek anlatmanin geregi yok. Canli performanslarda karsimiza cikan, sevdigimiz “Iskender”, bu albumde yerini bulmus. Neset Ertas katkili ”Sevsem Oldururler Sevmesem Oldum” ve Pir Sultan Abdal’dan bir beyit aldiklari “Asiklarin Sozu Kalir” iki “baska” sarki. Bu kez konuksuz bir albüm yapmis BaBa Zula. “Âsiklarin Sözü Kalir”da bizi büyüleyen “eski dost” Brenna’yi konuktan saymamak gerek elbet. insani bir anda kendine getiren “Nokta”, kus civiltilari esliginde adini aldigi parkin guzelligini odamiza kadar getiren “Abbasaga Parki” ve neseli “Karayel” disinda bir “Japon Halayi” bile var bu albumde. Hatta oyun havalari ile beraber ve solo sarkilar da... Her birinin birbirinden etkileyici oldugunu soylememize gerek yok, zaten dinleyince fark edeceksiniz.
Sona dogru, toplulugun “gizli” elemani Ceren Oykut’un da adini anmakta fayda var. Album icin cizdigi desenler, canli performanslardakini aratmiyor. Bir BaBa ZuLa klasigi daha!
Sessiz, sakin ama bir o kadar dolu, firtinali bir albüm “Kokler”. BaBa ZuLa deyince akla ilk ne geliyorsa tastamam o, bu albumde yerini almis.

Metin: Murat Meric