BaBa ZuLa describe their sound as ‘Psychedelic Istanbul Rock ’n Roll’ – a heady mixture that laces the classic Anadolu psych sound with modern electronics, dubwise studio smarts, and fiery left-field sonic radicalism.

Founded in 1996 after the break up of experimental band ZeN, BaBa ZuLa began by scoring for film, before developing a style that pushed the classic Turkish psych sound of the 1970s forward into the 21 st century. The band are led by electric saz player Osman Murat Ertel, who grew up in the creative musical milieu of 1960s Istanbul. It was an era of innovation, when a new wave of musicians such as Erkin Koray and Barış Manço, and groups like Moğollar and Bunalım, were fusing the ancient folklore sounds of rural Anatolia with international psychedelic rock and pop to create the renowned musical fusion now known as Anadolu psych. Among the most important innovations of the era was the electrification of the saz, a seven-string bouzouki-like instrument also known as a baglama that dates back to 1000BC, and which is the most important instrument in Turkish folklore. As the microtonal sound of the saz was cranked up through electrification, the ancient folk music of the saz-playing ashiqs – travelling troubadours, able to speak truth to power from beyond the fringe of mainstream society – was made newly relevant for a modern generation. With the searing fuzz of Ertel’s virtuoso saz playing at the front and centre of the BaBa ZuLa sound, this radically innovative tradition is the backbone of the group’s music. But the BaBa ZuLa musical vision has always been exploratory. ‘BaBa ZuLa is a special group,’ explains Ertel today. ‘We are following traditional Turkish psychedelic folk, and mixing in stuff from all over the world, but we are not doing it the way people did that in the 1960s. We have other approaches.’ Most notably, Ertel’s love of reggae led to production collaborations with celebrated reggae artists including dub master Mad Professor and legendary rhythm team Sly and Robbie. Searching for input from motorik rock and electronics, they have worked with drummer Jaki Liebezeit of krautrock supremos Can and bassist Alexander Hacke of industrial experimentalists Einstürzende Neubauten, and with their penchant for improvisation they have worked with French improvising guitarist Titi Robin and Norwegian jazz legend Bugge Wesseltoft. With their feet planted firmly in the Anadolu psych of their Istanbul base, the band have drawn threads from across the musical spectrum and woven them into a uniquely outernational expression of psychedelic rock.