Direct-To-Disc Sessions

セウン・クティ、セウ・ジョルジ&ホジェー、ゲイリー・バーツなどをリリースしてきた NIGHT DREAMERの新作は、トルコが誇るダウンテンポのスペシャリストであるアイランドマンが、伝説的なパーカッショニストのオカイ・テミズ、そして現代を代表するサズの巨匠モーリス・バルベログを迎え録音した、バレアリック・フォークトロニカとでもいうべき作品!
アイランドマンのトレードマークともいえるバレアリックなビートの上で、偉大なオカイ・テミズの閃きが炸裂し、バルベログのサズによるアナドル・フォークをモダナイズしたようなサウンドが融合する極めて刺激的なセッション集。動的なECMとでもいうべき一枚。

Islandman are an electro-acoustic downtempo ensemble from Turkey led by multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Tolga Boyuk with drummer/percussionist Eralp Guven and guitarist Erdem Başer. Their often exotic, shape-shifting sound combines gauzy Balearic, neo-psychedelia, ambient, atmospheric electronics, and organic and synthetic dance beats with silvery, spacious guitars, saz, and keyboard interplay. Their musics root inspirations lie in Turkish and Middle Eastern modal, folk, rock, and electronic music. After a handful of conventional releases including 2020s Kaybola and 2021s Karavan Sessions, Amsterdams Night Dreamer label invited them to record one of their very occasional Direct-To-Disc Sessions. Islandman selected young saz virtuoso Muhlis Berberoğlu, the face of Anatolian musics new generation, and legendary octogenarian percussionist Okay Temiz, who has worked with iconic musicians from all over the world including Cem Karaca, Don Cherry, Johnny Dyani, and Lars Gullin. Temiz has been a lifelong inspiration to every member of Islandman. Boyuk sought to make an album of modern Balearic-tinged folktronica with adventurous percussion. What transpired far exceeded his expectations. Ten-and-a-half-minute opener "Aʂik Atiʂmasi" is an excellent showcase for the in-the-moment creative process offered here. Berberoglu switches between acoustic and electric bağlamas (saz) and the cura -- a Turkish instrument closest to mandolin and ukelele. Saz introduces this jam on the modal tip. Fleet single-string runs flit through Middle Eastern modal overtones, Tuareg blues, rock, and Anatolian folk. Temiz and Guven lead the band in a roiling, trippy, psych-funk groove as synth, saz, electric guitar, flutes, and a ghostly harmonica flesh out this feverish dance jam. "Papatyalar" begins with a searching taqsim that Temiz and Berberoglu explore with various intervals and modal scales. Boyuks bubbling dubwise bassline and Başers electric guitar create crazy harmonics. "Deniz Alti Ruzgasrlari" uses hypnotic drum and percussion layers atop a winding saz melody before breaking into a rockist bridge complete with a power chord vamp. The beats underneath meld Balearic, trance, and circular house rhythms. Nine-and-a-half-minutes long, "Fidaya" is easily the sets finest moment. It weds Arabic maqam, Mevlevi dance traditions, organic and synthetic beats, and swirling sonics. Berberoğlu reveals his virtuosity on electric and acoustic bağlama, as Başer provides support with imaginative chord runs. The classical Turkish melody is delivered with furious intensity in rounds linked by killer solos. The adventurous interplay between Guvens drums, Temizs percussion instruments, and Boyuks bumping bass and silky electronics offer an aesthetically dazzling example of modern Asian improvised music. On the whirling "Kalenin Bedenleri" Berberoğlu lays down flatpicked saz lines that channel bluegrass and jazz, revealing the virtuosity of saz master Talip Ozkan as the rest of the band feverishly keeps up with trancey beats and heavily reverbed sonics. This Direct-To-Disc Sessions volume offers a visceral example of what Islandman do so well. They combine Central Asian cultural tenets, modern Western production techniques, and a command of global rhythms and ambient electronica from across the progressive spectrum. All told, they deliver energetic, compelling music played with finesse, taste, and incomparable imagination. ~ Thom Jurek