Bariş K interview 7.10.2010

Words: Mikko Anisimoff

Bariş K – the man behind the excellent Eurasia mixes full of exotic Turkish gems will get behind Nolla's decks this Saturday. Right before his Finnish debut, we interviewed him about his edits, the music scene in Turkey and the new festival he is involved with.

Tell us a bit about your background as a dj – how did you start and what kind of music have you played over the years? When did you start getting into the older Turkish stuff you are nowadays mainly known for, or have you always played that as well?

– Actually, I started as a waiter in a jazz/post-rock cafe in mid-90's. Then I started changing the cassette frequently before I was charged to take care of the new cd players, and I played all kinds of music since I got here. There's no actual beginning for the old Turkish stuff, it's going back to my childhood. But when I started doing these mixes after the compilation revival in Europe, I thought maybe I should cut those irritating parts out and I started editing, too. I'm planning to release some of these edits on New York's Nublu label starting this December.

Besides the edits, what do you play nowadays – who are your favourite contemporary producers or artists?

– Well, actually I play more house and disco at my regular nights in Istanbul. I'm always big fan of the US scene – the likes of Darshan Jesrani, Morgan Geist, Lovefingers, Lee Douglas, Brennan Green and Europeans like DJ Harvey, Prins Thomas and Beppe Loda.

How would you describe the club scene in Istanbul nowadays? Any tips for people visiting the city?

– Well, I guess just because Turkish traditional music was always progressive in some sense, the contemporary dance scene is about beats and fat basses, too. I don't mean a kind of progressive house, but eclectic and urban sounds attract less the Istanbul crowd. So, mainly house and disco in all variations rule in the tiny bars of the city. If you ever come around, come check out our MiniMüzikhol at the very center of Istanbul.

Are there any today's Turkish artists you recommend to check out?

– My favorite lately is Alatav, it's a division from the legendary Siya Siyabend. Both of them are original street bands that play on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue. There's nothing like listening to their music live.

I guess majority of the stuff that you edit originates from the 1970's. You've probably heard stories about the disco scene in Turkey back in the day.

– Compared to Anadolu Pop, I guess disco wasn't a major thing in istanbul in 70's – probably limited to some elite clubs downtown. Folks hesitated because it was far too Western. In the meantime, Istanbul was the first stop on the mystic route to the East, so a lot of hippies and artists were seen in and around the old city. They have collaborated with young rock musicians who already started experimentations with folk music in the mid 60's. This was a big chance to widen perspectives. The Anadolu Pop genre came about in the early 70's and was widely accepted by the mainstream. Those artists were creating sorts of psychedelic folk sounds and we know LSD-like drugs were highly involved in it during that time, even if we can't see it on the official stories.

Have any of the artists you've edited heard your versions and perhaps commented about them? Do you know if they are still active making music?

– Only two of the artists listened to what I did because most of them have already left this world. And I observed it wasn't too easy for them to get our perception, but anyways they loved the edits. The names who still can perform, with a few exceptions, are already on the AnaPop festival line up.

Can you tell a bit about the AnaPop Festival you are involved with. How was this year's event, do you plan to continue with it annually?

– We call it a festival because it's a massive gathering. We didn't think of it as an annual thing in the first place, but who knows. Some of the artists hadn't performed in at least 30 years. The audience who are mostly under 35 like me never had the chance to see them live on stage and some of the people were introduced to this music first time at this event. It was one of those remarkable nights, we were like in a live documentary.

I read you're working on your debut album consisting of original productions. What is it going to be like and when can we expect it to come out?

– I'm planning to launch an EP first and then the album, which is probably coming out in mid-2011. There's a term which Derdiyoklar created in 1979 to describe their music, Disko Folk. So, we (me and a couple of instrumentalist friends) are travelling on the coasts of Disko Folk and Synth Folk. I made up the second one.

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