Join KALX in welcoming Turkish psych outfit Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek to the Bay Area when they play The Chapel in San Francisco on Wednesday, August 6th.
Ears of Maize sits in conversation with Derya on Monday, August 4th at 4pm to discuss the iconic sound of the beloved bağlama, and its echos across their latest record, clubs, and Germany’s highest regarded concert halls (Elpphilharmonie, Hamburg).
They discuss music as a language, and ask what do sounds definitive of our generation & time sound like? Asking who are we…? …where’d we come from?? …and where we are going???! You’re not going to want to miss this conversation circling Turkish psych and the globe.
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek are internationally recognized since their start in 2014 for their unique and infectious sound that combines Anatolian folk with psychedelia, pop and soul influences.
They refer to themselves as “outernational” over international as they say it suggests a sound that’s more inclusive or “beyond borders.” Derya, who sings and plays the bağlama, is German born to Turkish parents. Drummer Helen Wells is Berlin-based by way of South Africa while keyboard player Graham Mushnik and guitar/bass player Antonin Voyant are both French. The collective influences they bring to Anatolian music make for a completely unique and fresh sound that both pushes the genre forward and champions its rich heritage.
