Various Artists - The Past Is a Wound in My Heart (2024) [Hi-Res]

A collection of Turkish tango cuts recorded in the decades following the foundation of the Republic in 1923, 'The Past is a Wound in my Heart' is another eye-opening history lesson from Death Is Not The End.

Argentine Tango arrived in Türkiye not long the country was declared the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, but it took another few years for local artists - who mostly used the Ballroom tango rhythm - to record in the Turkish language. The first proper Turkish tango, 'Mazi Kalbimde Bir Yaradır', was written by Necip Celal in the late '20s, and sparked a craze that lasted decades. Death Is Not The End's latest anthology picks up the story here, sweeping up remnants of the Turkish tango from its birth until the mid-1950s, when it was on its last legs.

Fittingly, it begins with the first recorded version of 'Mazi', from the pioneering performer Seyyan Hanım, who's featured here three times. And there's plenty more to dig into, with a grip of recordings from Istanbul's İbrahim Özgür, who had his own orchestra and ran Istanbul's Ates Boceklen nightclub, two pieces from Celal İnce, who made a name for himself in Istanbul before emigrating to the USA in the 1950s, and melancholy remnants from Hulusi Oktem Choir, Birsen Alan, Yasar Guvenir and others.

Tracklist:
1-1. Seyyan Hanim - The Past Is a Wound in My Heart (02:59)
1-2. Ibrahim Özgür - Your Words Are Lies (03:13)
1-3. Yaşar Güvenir - I Have Been Patient for Years (03:23)
1-4. Hikmet Hanim - Go Now (02:58)
1-5. Seyyan Hanim - Womaniser (02:55)
1-6. Ibrahim Özgür - My Feelings (03:11)
1-7. Celal İnce - I Want to Forget (03:23)
1-8. Birsen Alan - Those Black Eyes (03:14)
1-9. Celal İnce - I'm Jealous (03:16)
1-10. Mahmure Handan Hanım - I'm Drunk I'm Drunk (02:39)
1-11. Hulusi Öktem Choir - My Song (03:38)
1-12. Zehra Eren - What Would Happen If You Were Mine? (04:03)
1-13. Ibrahim Özgür - Last Breath (03:18)
1-14. Seyyan Hanim - Life (Makes You Cry While Laughing) (03:12)