Review

At their core, Altin Gn are the ultimate modern fusion bandnot in the Miles Davis sense, but by the very literal definition. Emerging from Amsterdam, the Dutch-Turkish quintet specializes in a sublime form of psychedelia, revitalizing traditional Anatolian music as they spiderweb out into prog, disco, funk, and synth-pop. And for their first eight years, they also relied on a particularly captivating fusion behind the microphones, with singer Merve Dademir blending her mellifluous tones with the more somber, ruminative voice of Erdin Ecevit. For their sixth album, they face a unique challengecarrying on without that distinctive sweet-and-savory hybrid, Dademir having left the lineup in 2024. That shift alone makes Garip more of an obvious grower than any of their previous work, including their pair of divisive, electronic-leaning pandemic projects, 2021’s Yol and lem. At first, it’s hard to shake the feeling that something’s missingyou can’t help but autofill Dademir’s haunting timbre into “ldrme Beni,” a funky groover with handclaps and spacey-as-hell synthesizer leads. But once you let reality take hold, you start to notice all of the subtle ways they’ve yet again tricked out their songs. Here, reimagining the work of Turkish folk artist Neet Erta, they add cinematic drama through the Stockholm Studio Orchestra (see: “Gnl Da”), add sexy saxophones (“Suum Nedir”), slip in a blissful space-rock slide-guitar solo (“Gel Kama Gel”) and reach peak synth-wave on closer “Bir Nazar Eyledim.” What Altin Gn has lost in immediate charisma, they’ve made up for in curiosity.

Ryan Reed,

Product Details

Altin Gn have spent nearly a decade proving that the hypnotic pulse of Anatolian folk and psychedelic rock belong together, drawing equally from Istanbul’s 1970s golden age and the Amsterdam club scene that first embraced them. Garip finds the band honoring Neet Erta, a titan of Turkish folk whose balama work and songwriting shaped generations of musicians across the diaspora.

Since bursting onto the scene in 2018 with their debut album, On, Amsterdam-based Altin Gun have been at the vanguard of the 21st century revival of Turkish-influenced psychedelic grooves. Now, the Grammy-nominated quintet return with their sixth studio album Garip their most ambitious and diverse release to date, and a heartfelt tribute to Neet Erta – a revered and much-loved Turkish singer, lyricist and balama player who recorded more than 30 albums and wrote hundreds of songs.

Tracklist

1.Neredesin Sen2.Gnl Dai3.ldrme Beni4.Nide Balari5.Benim Yarim6.Suum Nedir7.Gel Yanma Gel8.Zlf Dklm9.Gel Kama Gel10.Bir Nazar Eyledim

UPC: 880882684525
Label: ATO Records
Release Date: 2.20.26
Format: CD