Turkish Groove

Product Review

In 2005, Putumayo’s head of A&R, Jacob Edgar traveled to Istanbul to immerse himself in Turkey’s culture and discover its music. Though its cities are filled with the ancient architecture of its long history, Turkey is considered one of the most modern Muslim countries in the world. This cultural juxtaposition is most evident in Turkey’s contemporary pop music scene, where classical traditions and instrumentation blend with sophisticated global pop and dance music. Turkish Groove, reflects this unique musical mosaic and joins the successful Groove series.

Much like their Western pop counterparts, Turkish stars push the limit of their society’s standards of acceptability. As a result, Turkish pop music is crossing over to audiences outside Turkey, making inroads into the contemporary scenes of Europe and Latin America though remaining largely unknown in other parts of the world.

As Turkish pop takes its place on the international stage, its fusions of cultural traditions and modern techniques play to an ever expanding audience. Putumayo’s Turkish Groove hopes to serve as an introduction to the contemporary sounds of this culturally rich country.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this CD will be donated to Karnaval Kid in support of their efforts to improve childcare and education for disadvantaged children in Turkey.

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In 2005, Putamayo's A&R man, Jacob Edgar, traveled to Turkey, a country that straddles Europe and Asia, hung out in its exotic nightclubs, and produced this compilation. If you were expecting to hear some belly-dancing, snake-charming tunes, this CD's 11 tracks will quickly disabuse you of those cliches. These selections exhibit a funky fusion of central Asia, the Balkans, and the Middle East that also includes rap, hip-hop, electronica, and even suggests Ballywood. Turkey's boy idol Tarkan serves up a spicy fluted-and-strings track on "Dudu," equally matched by Mustafa Sandal's Flamenco-flavored heartthrob number, "Kalmadi," with an evocative stringed instrument called a kanun. The ladies also get their groove on, as evidenced by Sertab Erener's whispery soprano on "Buda" and Nazan Oncel's New York-style rap, "Atiyosun." Turkey is an impressive cultural blend of East and West, and nothing signifies that blend better than its pop music. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

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