Putumayo Presents: Turkish Groove

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: March 21, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Putumayo World Music
• ASIN: B000E6ESP8
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,444 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Music > World Music > Middle East > Turkey
  #22 in	Music > World Music > Europe > Eastern Europe

• This item is part of The Putumayo Grooves Series.

Track Listings

1. Kirmizi Biber - Bendeniz

2. Kalmadi - Mustafa Sandal

3. Buda - Sertab

4. Pis Pisla - Nilgül

5. Dudu [Özgür Buldum Remix] - Tarkan

6. Sinanay - Gülseren,

7. Kusursuzsun [Acoustic Version] - Emrah

8. Ayrilik Günü - Göksel,

9. Oha Falan Oldum Yani - Tugba Ekinci

10. Atiyosun - Nazan Öncel,

11. Sanima Inanma - Sezen Aksu

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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.

Product Description

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the music. Hear the music. Love the music. , October 25, 2006

By	Charles Curtis (Jackman, Maine) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a huge Turkophile. Just don't get me started, I'll bore you for hours on how amazing Turkey is. Incredible history. Sublime landscapes. Limpid seas. Beautiful weather. Exquisite food. Gracious hospitality. Some of the most beautiful women (and men, I have on good authority) in the world. One of the most poetic and beautiful languages on the planet.

Not to mention incredible music.

Ah, the music.. Until you've been at a traditional peasant wedding on the Aegean, or to a nightclub in Van where the Kurds are breaking it down the Old School Anatolian way with a traditional eight piece band, well.. you just haven't been there. You haven't really heard it. And you can't know what you're missing. No CD will replicate those sort of experiences.

Not even this one. But it comes sort of close. This disk isn't old school like the music I heard the above mentioned places. But it catches some of that same energy and soul (NB: not soul as in Marvin Gaye, but soul as in Mehmet the Conquerer & the Book of Dede Korkut.) It's froth off the top of the rich Turkish pop scene. Music that's a fusion of the traditional with international pop influences.

And contrary to our Turkish friend from Izmir commenting here, I have to say that it does make sense. It's a nice melange of tunes. A taste of modern Turkey. Afyet olsun, as they say. For someone who's never heard anything from Turkey other than maybe Tarkan, this will prove a tasty morsel. BTW, Tarkmeister's a Turkish version of Ricky Martin, only a hundred thousand nintey nine million times as good. He is the only artist with two songs on this mix.

My favorite tune here is Sinanay, a folk cover, with a great irrepressible bass line. It opens with a Latin American dude asking for directions "Donde esta Istanbul? Estoy perdido aqui!" to which the Turkish girl goes "Istanbul?" And then breaks into poetic song telling the poor goofball how to get there. Just çok comik & wicked güzel, chooch.

Atiyosun deserves special mention, as well. The lyrics- as well as I can gather with my 500 word Turkish vocabulary- are a girl telling a guy to get lost. It's bracingly laconic, relentlessly catchy.

Those are two highlights. Know that there is nary a bad track on this thing.

So buy this disk, slap it on during your next party, and everyone will dig it, I promise you. Your parents, super hip acquintances, dorky friends, annoying roomate, maiden aunt.. Everybody. Why? Because it's groovy. It's Turkish. And - Need I say it? - like all things groovy & Turkish, it rocks.


PS. And be sure to go to Turkiye someday, if only in your dreams.

The Muslims won't hurt you. And more than a few Turks will welcome, even embrace you. You will always savour & never regret it.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Turkin' Groovin', May 12, 2006

By	S. Morgan (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I keep an eye on Putumayo's website, so I was aware of this CD long before it was released. Oh, the agony of the wait! The day it came out I rushed to a local music store and picked up a brand new copy.
Many of the performers are veterans of the Turkish music scene like Tarkan, Bendeniz, and, of course, Sezen Aksu. Others are new-comers. My favorites I've listened to over and over. Bendeniz's opening number is one of her catchiest from my listening experience, so the CD get's you grooving from the get-go. Sertab's "Buda" is a funky blend of Turkish traditions and breathy western hip-hop sensibilities. "Sinanay" by Gulseren is a new party-pop version of an older Sezen Aksu song.
One of the grooviest tracks is Nazan Oncel's "Atiyosun" which rolls from her tongue in an infections way that makes the non-Turkish speaker want to understand every word. As always, Sezen Aksu is fabulous. Nothing more needs to be said about that.
I probably own about 40 Putumayo disks.
There are a couple of tracks that don't shine, but none is a complete dud, and the great tracks more than make up for them.
In the short time since this one was released I've definitely listened to it more than any other for their fantastic compilations. Highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What s a great intro to Turkish music !!, April 18, 2006

By	Bulut (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews

What s a great intro to Turkish music !!

I am an amateur musician who keeps a very close eye on contemporary Turkish music. This is a pop album (by Turkish standards) but unlike pop that we get exposed to in the West, it will be attractive to music lovers with a wide range of taste and age. My 13 year old loves it and so do I. Intoxicating percussion and mystical melodies will put you in a trance. It is upbeat and promotes good mood. It is fresh. It is ethic but worldly. It is progressive but has its roots in ancient musical traditions. It blends acoustic and electronic elements with precision, good taste and balance. This CD has more female voices then male voices and that seems to add a very special feel. The album cover is very appropriate. There is Turkish music out there that represents many alternative genres however I can't imagine anyone being disappointed by this selection. The artists in Turkey are struggling to survive in an environment where many people still choose to buy bootlegged copes of CDs. Buy the original CD !!