Turkish psych has become a more familiar genre in recent years, its sonorous use of electric saz giving a distinct take on Western rock music. While that style is now easily recognisable, over the course of three decades Baba Zula has been determined to push it into way more adventurous, experimental and rhythmical territory. A glance at some of their previous collaborators shows their preference for visionary artists: dub pioneer the Mad Professor, Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit, Warren Ellis of the Dirty Three and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, members of Faust and Einstürzende Neubauten. Those encounters have of course left their influence but Baba Zula are an ensemble with their own distinct vision, one in which Anatolian traditions meet with dub, trance, electronics and the avant-garde.
Each Baba Zula album has a different theme with them exploring a particular aspect of Türkiye. On ‘XXX’, the focus is on nature and standing with local communities from whom forests and land are being taken. The title uses Roman numerals to reflect their 30 years of existence and the album blends instrumentals and taksims (an element of Turkish classical music which was traditionally an improvised introduction in which the mood of a particular scale is established with melodic variations played over a root note drone) with words that travel from the surreal to the politically engaged.
Clocking in at 30 minutes and 30 seconds, ‘XXX’ is a distilled take on their vision but that is sufficient time for them to create a hypnotic groove. Opening track ‘Günlüklü Koyu Havası’ is a brief instrumental in which saz competes with recorded sounds of nature. It is followed by ‘Balkondaki Beyaz Çoraplı Kedi’ (‘The White-Socked Cat on the Balcony’) which the translated lyric booklet that accompanies the record shows to be a fleeting and mischievous encounter between two cats. Musically, it is the track that is most reminiscent of Can while the lyrics are indicative of a playful nature which is also reflected in the instrumentation list with Levent Akman on spoons, machines and toys in addition to percussion.
There is a beguiling sense of space and progression as ‘XXX’ develops, a hypnotic mood that draws in the listener. The instrumental ‘Cırtlak’ has waves lapping, trippy saz and rhythms together with synths from the guesting İklim Tamkan that take an avant-garde approach to muzak. A significant element of their sound is the percussion and it is to the fore on, ‘Kutsal Zeytin Halayı’ (‘The Sacred Olive Tree Halay Dance’) which is enhanced by another guest, double bassist Eylül Güntekin. The song is an allegory about the war between corporate techno-fascism and nature with tribal cries and the intertwined female and male vocals of Esma and Murat Erkel utilising their different tones to provide urgency to their tale delving into ancient history dating back to the Pharaohs as a basis for asserting the primacy of nature and includes the warning, “The Romans said the first tree is the olive / and the punishment for harming it is death.”
While ‘Otel Kaliforniya’ borrows its title which has no need for translation from The Eagles, its storyline provides greater need for fear and paranoia. Telling of land and homes being stolen to create a holiday paradise, the semi-spoken vocals and saz mix with the synths, organs and the click of a reception bell to create a brilliantly warped melody.
The final instrumental ‘Has Halhal Dansı’ (‘Genuine Halhal Dance’) is broodingly percussive yet celebratory. ‘XXX’ culminates with the powerful statement, ‘Hak Bitmez Güç Bitee’ (‘Right Does Not Run Out, Power Does.’) It features the voice of 75-year-old Hatice Kocalar, a villager from Türkiye’s Aegean region whose protest against government policies that impact upon the natural environment symbolises grassroots resistance movements. Its environmental viewpoint is emphasised by the salient point, “coal runs out, but the energy of the wind, the energy of the sun does not.” As she shouts over weaving patterns of saz, percussion and double bass, it makes for a mighty conclusion to the album.
As an entirety, ‘XXX’ is an increasingly engaging piece of work. It a further winning demonstration of Baba Zula’s ethos of refusing to repeat themselves, always producing something new, and engaging with their environment.
Baba Zula: XXX – Out 25 September 2026 (Glitterbeat)
Zula – Kutsal Zeytin Halayı (Holy Olive Halay Dance) (official visualiser)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
