Fronted by Turkish singer and multi-instrumentalist Derya Yıldırım, and with members hailing from Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain, psych-pop quintet Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek are gearing up to release their debut album Kar Yağar. Translating as “Snow Falls”, Kar Yağar marvelously blends a mixture of influences and genres, from Anatolian roots music and 70’s jazz to early prog rock. The record, and as the press release describes, “has the dynamics of an epic journey through the Anatolian highlands where deep-rooted folk effortlessly switches to sparkly improvisation or dancy pop tracks.” Comprising original songs and instrumentals, Kar Yağar also features Turkish folk songs re-arranged by the band.
Ahead of its release on May 24th through Catapulte Records, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek have shared a string of singles. Take a listen to the stunning and hypnotizing opening track “Üç Kız Bir Ana” and the album´s closer “Oy Oy Emine”. The latter, a cover of a traditional Turkish song, comes with a video by Agnieszka Gasiorek and Marcin Dominiak.