Baba Zula

Known for its unique sound created by the amalgamation of natural field recordings coupled with traditional and modern acoustic and electronic instruments, Baba Zula, an adventurous underground band, based in Ýstanbul has brought a brand new dimension to the alternative world music scene. Scoring solely for plays and films until their first vocal album “Psychebelly Dance Music”, Baba Zula remains loyal to its singular creativity. Mixed and mastered by Mad Professor, the notorious British/Jamaican dub producer, the “oriental–dub” album incorporates folk tunes, gazel, taksim and bozlak with a contemporary approach and fuses them with universal concepts such as sample, dub and groove. With their third album, “ Duble Oryantal” again mixed and mastered in the heart of mega-city Istanbul by Mad Professor, Baba Zula have further developed the new genre they have named oriental dub.There’s a talented and eclectic supporting cast on board for a share of musical pioneering. Guest musicians include reggae legends Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, Alexander Hacke- basist of Einsturzende Neubauten, Canadian vocalist Brenna MacCrimmon and three acclaimed artists who span the spectrum from traditional Turkish music (celebrated clarinetist Hüsnü Þenlendirici from Laço Tayfa) to Turkish rock and pop (Özkan Uður from MFÖ), and writer-painter-musician Mehmet Güreli.

Among Baba Zula’s performances are Roskilde Festival (Denmark), Cologne Triennale (Germany), Printemps de Bourges (France) and Þimdi/Now Festival (Germany), Boost Festival ( Netherlands ). The band also appeared in the Golden Bear award winner, film director Fatih Akýn’s new documentary on the sounds of Istanbul, played and recorded with Einstuerzende Neubauten’s Alexander Hacke