Direct-To-Disc Sessions

by Islandman

Overview

Islandman are an electro-acoustic downtempo ensemble from Turkey led by multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Tolga Boeyuek with drummer/percussionist Eralp Gueven and guitarist Erdem Baser. Their often exotic, shape-shifting sound combines gauzy Balearic, neo-psychedelia, ambient, atmospheric electronics, and organic and synthetic dance beats with silvery, spacious guitars, saz, and keyboard interplay. Their music's root inspirations lie in Turkish and Middle Eastern modal, folk, rock, and electronic music. After a handful of conventional releases including 2020's Kaybola and 2021's Karavan Sessions, Amsterdam's Night Dreamer label invited them to record one of their very occasional Direct-To-Disc Sessions. Islandman selected young saz virtuoso Muhlis Berberoglu, the face of Anatolian music's new generation, and legendary octogenarian percussionist Okay Temiz, who has worked with iconic musicians from all over the world including Cem Karaca, Don Cherry, Johnny Dyani, and Lars Gullin. Temiz has been a lifelong inspiration to every member of Islandman. Boeyuek sought to make an album of modern Balearic-tinged folktronica with adventurous percussion. What transpired far exceeded his expectations. Ten-and-a-half-minute opener "AÊ?ik AtiÊ?masi" is an excellent showcase for the in-the-moment creative process offered here. Berberoglu switches between acoustic and electric baglamas (saz) and the cura -- a Turkish instrument closest to mandolin and ukelele. Saz introduces this jam on the modal tip. Fleet single-string runs flit through Middle Eastern modal overtones, Tuareg blues, rock, and Anatolian folk. Temiz and Gueven lead the band in a roiling, trippy, psych-funk groove as synth, saz, electric guitar, flutes, and a ghostly harmonica flesh out this feverish dance jam. "Papatyalar" begins with a searching taqsim that Temiz and Berberoglu explore with various intervals and modal scales. Boeyuek's bubbling dubwise bassline and Baser's electric guitar create crazy harmonics. "Deniz Alti Ruezgasrlari" uses hypnotic drum and percussion layers atop a winding saz melody before breaking into a rockist bridge complete with a power chord vamp. The beats underneath meld Balearic, trance, and circular house rhythms. Nine-and-a-half-minutes long, "Fidaya" is easily the set's finest moment. It weds Arabic maqam, Mevlevi dance traditions, organic and synthetic beats, and swirling sonics. Berberoglu reveals his virtuosity on electric and acoustic baglama, as Baser provides support with imaginative chord runs. The classical Turkish melody is delivered with furious intensity in rounds linked by killer solos. The adventurous interplay between Gueven's drums, Temiz's percussion instruments, and Boeyuek's bumping bass and silky electronics offer an aesthetically dazzling example of modern Asian improvised music. On the whirling "Kalenin Bedenleri" Berberoglu lays down flatpicked saz lines that channel bluegrass and jazz, revealing the virtuosity of saz master Talip Oezkan as the rest of the band feverishly keeps up with trancey beats and heavily reverbed sonics. This Direct-To-Disc Sessions volume offers a visceral example of what Islandman do so well. They combine Central Asian cultural tenets, modern Western production techniques, and a command of global rhythms and ambient electronica from across the progressive spectrum. All told, they deliver energetic, compelling music played with finesse, taste, and incomparable imagination. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	09/01/2023
Label:	Night Dreamer
UPC:	0735745958971
Rank:	74568

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Islandman   Primary Artist
Okay Temiz   Featured Artist
Muhlis Berberoglu   Featured Artist