by Gaye Su Akyol (Glitterbeat Records 040, CD, LP+digital)
A long time has elapsed since the release of Fatih Akin’s Crossing the Bridge, his 2005 documentary on the sheer diversity of sounds emanating from the then-contemporary clubs of Istanbul. This recent silence is one that makes the drama of Gaye Su Akyol’s Hologram Ĭmparatorluğu (Hologram Empire) all the more welcome. Akyol’s theatrical twist on Turkey’s traditional folk forms is exhilarating – especially when her smoky voice is paired with a thumping surf rock band that rumbles away behind her.
