BaBa ZuLa
★★★★
İstanbul Sokakları
GLITTERBEAT. CD/DL/LP
Turkish psych legends get heavy.
OF ALL THE current Turkish rockers making waves, BaBa ZuLa bring the greatest sense of dread of something dark beneath the surface. And so it is on İstanbul Sokakları (Streets Of Istanbul), which mixes ambient found sounds from their home city with a Chandler-esque world of shadows and malevolence, whether it is political repression, switchblade violence or simply the snobbery of traditional musicians who have taken against electric instruments. Five of the eight songs cast sketchy sunshine on these vistas, lasting two or three minutes, but the landmark tracks – Arsız Saksağan (Cheeky Magpie), Yok Haddi Yok Hesabı (No Limit No Calculation) and Yaprakların Arasından (In Between The Leaves) – stretch out, displaying a curiosity about darkness and dub matched by the likes of Massive Attack or Mad Professor. A love letter, yes, but one in which birds sing, trains depart and the rich display an ignoble avarice.