GAYE SU AKYOL PRESENTS ‘ANADOLU EJDERI’ (tr) 

In Gaye Su Akyol we have our first Turkish BRDCST headliner, whose latest album ‘Anadolu Ejderi’ (Turkish for ‘Anatolian dragon’) has been festooned with five-star reviews everywhere. Akyol’s music is, in her own words, as influenced by her Turkish roots as it is by Joy Division, Nick Cave and surf music. Their shows – other than Gaye, all of the musicians wear masks – are moving and spellbinding. Iggy Pop agrees: ‘She’s a sparkling, seductive, enormously self-confident, splendid Turkish singer’.

Gaye Su Akyol was detained for questioning by the police in ’19 in Istanbul because of her critical views of the regime. The Guardian describes her music as dissident pop and an ‘unambiguous statement of protest against Turkey’s oppressive conservatism.’ Gaye’s repertoire fits in with the political spirit of the Turkish psychedelia of the ‘60-‘70 and such heroes as Erkin Koray, Bariș Manço, Selda and Cem Karaca.  

The press on ‘ANADOLU EJDERI’

• “The singer reflects on past loves, current politics and her once glorious Istanbul on this eclectic fourth album spanning folk to psych-rock “ **** The Guardian
• “Translated as ‘Anatolian Dargon’, Akyol’s first album in four years reaches for combustive metaphors to explore the emotional trials of life in her native land…” 8/10 UNCUT
• “On her fourth album (Glitterbeat)she displays her belief in the righteous fury of Kurt Cobain, the grooves that spread like tentacles from Persia centuries ago and the brief window in which forward-thinking pop stars spawned Turkish psychedelica.” Enter the dragon - Gaye Su Akyol **** MOJO

Gaye Su Akyol plays at the BRDCST festival on Sunday 9 April.