A special project inviting trailblazers and contemporary connoisseurs of the Anadolu Pop phenomenon to join forces with artists from UK music scene. Get ready to witness a great new project with members of Mogollar, Islandman, Hey! Douglas meeting UK talent led by Al MacSween (Maisha, Kefaya)

Commonly known as Turkish Psychedelia, the distinctive and authentic psych-rock and Anatolian Pop scene which developed on the late 60s and 70s in Turkey was a hybrid of western pop and local Turkish Anatolian folk, taking its influences from similar sounds of the era, originating in the US and UK.

While prominent acts such as Moğollar, Selda Bağcan, Cem Karaca, Barış Manço and Kurtalan Express paved the way to the invention of genre, jazz and improvisational music artists such as Okay Temiz, Tülay German, Tuna Ötenel also enjoyed the freedom of fusing Anatolian folk and spiritual music into their creations. This immense body of work, despite being silenced in the political suppression of the 80’s, kept resonating. It has been experiencing a revival in the global scene for the last decade, inspiring a younger generation of musicians, record collectors and writers.

With the musical direction of VEYasin (ModeXL, Hey Douglas), Tolga Böyük (Islandman) and Al MacSween (Maisha, Kefaya) the project creates a super-band with Cahit Berkay of Moğollar at the centre, as well as bringing together Ahmet Güvenç, Dunja Botic, Jake Long, Melike Şahin, Muhlis Berberoğlu , Murat Ertel (BabaZula), Okay Temiz, Tamar Osborn, Thodoris Ziarkas, Tolgahan Çoğulu, Tony Kofi & Yazz Ahmed.

Air Anatolia, aims to unite both cities by integrating the rhythmic, melodic and improvisational attributes of Anadolu Pop, with the dynamism and creativity of UK jazz, and its openness to non-western influences and fusion and in turn serving as an example of the bond between countries. 

With new compositions, arrangements of iconic tunes and familiar folks songs, this project is not a retrospective, it is a reboot into the future!

Air Anatolia is produced by EFG London Jazz Festival in collaboration with Gulbaba Records and Zorlu PSM with support from British Council international collaboration grant