Baba Zula (also stylized as BaBa ZuLa) is a Turkish alternative musical group, founded in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in 1996.Erich Kocin
''Psychedelische Klänge aus Istanbul in Wien''
Die Presse, 1 July 2007. Retrieved 2012-01-05. With a wide variety of influences and a wide range of instruments, they create a unique psychedelic sound.

History

Founded in 1996, the band features Levent Akman and Osman Murat Ertel till today. Latest incarnation added Periklis Tsoukalas, Melike Şahin and Özgür Çakırlar. The other founder member Emre Onel was replaced by Coşar Kamçı in 2005. He was replaced by Özgür Çakırlar in 2012. BaBa ZuLa added live drawing artist Ceren Oykut into the mix in 2004. She left the band in 2010. Her presence onstage had added an important visual aspect to BaBa ZuLa's live performances. Akman, Ertel, and Onel originally formed BaBa ZuLa as a side project of now disbanded psychedelic

Anatolian rock Anatolian rock ( tr, Anadolu rock), or known as Turkish psychedelic rock, is a fusion of Turkish folk music and rock. It emerged during the mid-1960s, soon after rock groups became popular in Turkey. Most known members of this genre includes Tu ...

group

ZeN Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

.Nick Hobbs, "Istanbul Grooves",
fRoots
' June 2008, pp. 59-61. The group started performing internationally at the Kumanova Jazz Festival in 2003 and gradually started building an international audience as well as a cult following in Turkey. In 2005 BaBa ZuLa was exposed to a wider international audience when they were featured in a documentary, ''Crossing the Bridge'' by

Fatih Akin Fatih Akin (Turkish: Fatih Akın, born 25 August 1973) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Head- ...

, which took an in-depth look at Istanbul's contemporary and avant-garde music scene.Reinvigorating roots
Innerviews, 2008. Retrieved 2012-01-05.

Musical style

Described as "Turkey’s most beloved alternative music purveyors," Baba Zula create a unique psychedelic sound, combining traditional Turkish instruments, electronica, reggae, and dub. The core of their sound is the saz, a Turkish bouzouki-like stringed instrument with a bright, high-pitched sound. They use a revolutionary approach to electric saz, combining it both with retro and high-end electronic effects that creates an original sound never heard before until now. BaBa ZuLa have performed at festivals such as The Spirit of Tengri ( Almaty,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

), Images of Middle East (multi-city Denmark tour), Roskilde Festival (Denmark), Sofia Film Festival (Bulgaria), Klinkende Munt Festival (Belgium),

Printemps de Bourges Le Printemps de Bourges is an annual music festival that is held in Bourges, France, over the course of five days. It is now a major event in France and Europe. History The festival was created in 1977 (by , , and ). With its span of 35 years ...

(France), Cologne Triennale (Germany), Şimdi/Now Festival (Germany), Arezzo Wave Festival (Italy), the

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

(Italy), the Boost Festival (Netherlands), and the Era Nowe Horyzonty (Wrocław, Poland).

Members

* Murat Ertel – lead vocals, electric saz, guitar,

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, vox (1996- ) * Levent Akman –

, drum,

machines A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecul ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

spoons Spoons may refer to: * Spoon, a utensil commonly used with soup * Spoons (card game), the card game of Donkey, but using spoons Film and TV * ''Spoons'' (TV series), a 2005 UK comedy sketch show *Spoons, a minor character from ''The Sopranos'' ...

(1996– ) * Periklis Tsoukalas – electric oud,

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

(2014– ) * Özgür Çakırlar –

darbuka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-s ...

, bendir,

davul The davul, dhol, tapan, atabal or tabl is a large double-headed drum that is played with mallets. It has many names depending on the country and region. These drums are commonly used in the music of the Middle East and the Balkans. These drums ...

(2012– )

Former members

* Melike Şahin – vox (2012–2018) * Emre Onel –

goblet drum The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet- ...

, sampler (1996–2003) * Ceren Oykut – live video (2004–2010) * Çoşar Kamçı –

(2003–2012 )

Guest musicians

International guests: * Sly Dunbar and

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as on ...

Alexander Hacke Alexander Hacke (also known as Alexander von Borsig, Alex Hacke, Hacke, born 11 October 1965) is a guitarist, bass guitarist, singer, musician, record producer, writer and filmmaker from Germany. He is primarily known as a longtime member of the ...

, bass guitarist from

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh ( custom-made instruments; p ...

* Brenna MacCrimmon, Canadian Turkish-Balkan folk musician and vocalist * Dr.Das (Asian Dub Foundation), English band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, and ragga * Titi Robin, French composer and improviser * Tod A., bass guitarist *

Bugge Wesseltoft Jens Christian Bugge Wesseltoft (born 1 February 1964) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer, and producer, son of jazz guitarist Erik Wesseltoft. Career In 1989, Wesseltoft collaborated with the Knut Riisnæs Quartet and was soon after ...

, Norwegian jazz musician, pianist, composer, and producer. Turkish guests: * Hüsnü Şenlendirici, clarinetist from Laço Tayfa *

Özkan Uğur Raif Özkan Uğur (born October 17, 1953) is a Turkish pop musician, member of the renowned band MFÖ and an actor. He was born as the 5th child of his family. He graduated Reşat Nuri Güntekin Primary School where he met and started playing ...

, Turkish rock/pop musician from

MFÖ Mazhar-Fuat-Özkan (MFÖ), also known by their original name Mazhar ve Fuat, is a Turkish pop and rock band with Mazhar Alanson, Fuat Güner and Özkan Uğur as members. While many of their songs poke fun at common Turkish types ("Ali Desidero", ...

* Mehmet Güreli, Turkish writer-painter-musician * Sumru Ağıryürüyen * Selim Sesler, clarinetist

Discography

* 1996 – '' Tabutta Rövaşata'' – soundtrack for '' Tabutta Rövaşata'' ("Somersault in the Coffin") by

Derviş Zaim Derviş Zaim (born Derviş Zaimağaoğlu in 1964) is a Turkish Cypriot filmmaker and novelist, who has twice won the Golden Orange for Best Director for ''Elephants and Grass'' (2000) and ''Dot (2008)''; Golden Oranges for Best Film and Best Scr ...

(Ada Music) * 1999 – '' Üç Oyundan Onyedi Müzik'' (Doublemoon) * 2003 – '' Psychebelly Dance Music'' (Ruhani Oyun Havaları)(Doublemoon, mixed by Mad Professor) * 2005 – '' Duble Oryantal'' ( Doublemoon, mixed by Mad Professor) * 2006 – '' Dondurmam Gaymak'' – soundtrack for '' Dondurmam Gaymak'' ("Ice Cream, I Scream") by Yüksel Aksu (Rh Pozitif) * 2007 – ''Kökler'' (Doublemoon) * 2010 – ''Gecekondu'' (Doublemoon) * 2014 – 34 Oto Sanayi * 2017 �
XX
* 2019 – ''Derin Derin'' * 2020 - ''Hayvan Gibi'' - recorded live direct-to-disc at Artone Studios, the Netherlands in August 2019.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baba Zula Musical groups established in 1996 Turkish musical groups World fusion groups Experimental musical groups Psychedelic folk groups Musical groups from Istanbul