Salih Korkut Peker - Denize Dik (2020) [Hi-Res]

In the 60s and 70s the popularity of psychedelic rock around the world also influenced local musicians in Turkey. This led them to go back to their cultural roots and find their authentic fusion between western and eastern musical traditions by adding the unique folk instrument “bağlama” into their repertoire. Anatolian Psychedelic Rock was born.

In the 90s, in a similar fashion Grunge supernova took off and caught the world on fire. SubPop’s promotion of Dry As a Bone describing the record as “ultra-loose GRUNGE that destroyed the morals of a generation” gave its name to the unique sound of Seattle bands. From subculture to mass culture, the threadbare flannel shirts, knobby wool sweaters, melancholia and cynical protest with noisy therapy sessions, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and others inspired a generation of young musicians at that age. It was a time we used to watch music on MTV.

Korkut Peker was among these musicians. Korkut is a virtuose of Cümbüş, a unique instrument with a unique history. It was invented by Zeynel Abidin Bey, a former weapon maker in the 1930s. After the independence war Zeynel Abidin wanted to create a new instrument to embody the ideals of peace, an instrument for the masses. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern secular Turkey, loved the instrument so much especially its capability of playing both Eastern and, with a quick change of removable necks, Western tunes together and named it Cümbüş which is Vitality in Fun. It was a modern instrument for a modern country.

However, cümbüş was inexpensive and was bought by people who couldn't afford a more expensive instrument; as a result, it became a folk instrument of the poor and of ethnic minorities in Turkey. It was excluded specifically by classical musicians of the era, being seen as lower-class. By the 1970s, use of the cümbüş declined among these minorities too except for Román professional musicians which still played at the weddings because of its ability to be heard alongside the other instruments. So far this unique instrument with a rich history was almost forgotten.

As his predecessors did with Anatolian Psychedelic Rock, while exploring the potential of this unique instrument, Korkut went back to his roots and found a unique fusion between Anatolia’s Bozlak musical tradition and Grunge tunes. Performing microtonal, traditional sounds on drop-d tuning being played by local unique instruments, such as cümbüş and çağlama, he managed to melt the melancholy and humour of Anatolia with the cloudy sky of Seattle's grunge in the same pot. Today Anatolian Grunge is born !

As the forerunner of this new genre, Korkut Peker’s first album, Denize Dik / Vertical in Sea, will be released September 18th by Lu Records. In his album, Salih Korkut pay tribute to Kurt Cobain by playing microtonal Anatolian Grunge version of one of Nirvana’s unforgettable songs, Something in the Way featuring one most versatile actor in Turkey Serkan Keskin.

Tracklist:
1 01. Salih Korkut Peker - Az Beyran (01:59)
1 02. Salih Korkut Peker - Dünün Halayı (03:24)
1 03. Salih Korkut Peker - Yok Hoşgeldin (03:49)
1 04. Salih Korkut Peker - Oraya (05:02)
1 05. Salih Korkut Peker - Kayıp Kirve (05:09)
1 06. Salih Korkut Peker - Something in the Way (05:39)