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Cover bands aren’t usually musical innovators. But Dolapdere Big Gang of Turkey might be the exception. Most of the group lives in Dolapdere, an Istanbul neighborhood with a rough reputation. This eight-piece band of young Roma musicians, plays Western pop hits in a traditional Turkish style. Matthew Brunwasser has the Globzl Hit.
Even though you’ve probably heard these songs about a zillion times before, Dolapdere makes them sound fresh.
Singer Emir Yeshil is Turkish, the only member of the group who is not Roma, or Gypsy. Most of the group lives in Dolapdere, an Istanbul neighborhood with a rough reputation.
YESHIL: Its also where the gypsy musicians live, they call it as a music factory. and the best musicians of turkey mostly come out from dolapdere.
The band got started about five years ago.
YESHIL: They first called it dolapdere big band, as in a jazz band, like big band, because there were like 10 people in the band, but then some newspaper wrote it wrong. they said dolapdere big gang.
The band liked the mistake, with its vague hint at Roma criminality. So they kept the name. Part of the band’s mission is to celebrate the musical traditions of Dolapdere and Turkey.
Here’s a Turkish-Roma twist to the 1986 rock epic by the Swedish band Europe. The final countdown.
YESHIL: Turkish traditional music is huge, there are 12 notes and one octave in normal western music, and in Turkish music, every half note has 9 different notes too, and there are maybe 500 scales in Turkish music, and we are trying to show the world.
YESHIL: “We do a lot of these things in our music, maybe in the beginning or the end, but it still comes to the point that you understand what turkish music is all about, no harmony, no nothing, just melodic instruments and percussion instruments. ”
Dolapdere uses traditional turkish instruments that you don’t hear much in pop music. The kanun is like a zither, played with picks. Then there’s the tambur, which looks like a long-necked lute. The band also has a clarinet and violin. Not your standard pop ensemble.
Emir Yeshil says a big difference between western and oriental music is the rhythm. Dolapdere likes to switch back and forth between western and Turkish rhythms in the same song… like this 9/8 rhythym. In the song sex bomb.
YESHIL: The rhythm makes you feel a little confused, when you first hear it, you can not clap to it, you can not understand where it starts, you have to listen to maybe 4 or 5 times and then you get the idea
Listeners are getting the idea. The group is playing for an increasingly diverse public these days, in western europe and the former soviet union, as well as here in Turkey. The bands third album is due out in March and Yeshil says there’ll be a bit more rock, drums and guitar. Whatever comes out of the new mix, Dolapdere clearly knows how to create chemistry between genres.
For the World, Im Matthew Brunwasser in Istanbul.
Very interesting sound. I like it a lot.
What a brilliant blend of eastern and western sound. I’m getting this for my father as a christmas gift!
Where are you purchasing it? I would like a copy too.
Hi – I was listening to this as I was driving back from work. I have heard of the Roma being of Indian origin – the music has very similar tones of Indian popular music and the reference to the tampura (which is currently used in indian classical music (south and north indian classical music) was very interesting. Nice piece.
This band is great! Do they have any CDs that are on sale here in the west?
tk
Hello -
There is one album available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Local-Strangers-Dolapdere-Big-Gang/dp/B000VY4DGC
Loved this –really a breath of fresh air!!!