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2020 BEST OF TURKISH MUSIC [thread]
The year is almost over. The music mags have given their top 100s, we had #SpotifyWrapped
, now it's time for my little round-up. It's been a crap year but a good year for music, so here are mini-reviews + a playlist of songs that defined 2020!
![2020 BEST OF TURKISH MUSIC [thread]The year is almost over. The music mags have given their top 100s, we had #SpotifyWrapped , now it's time for my little round-up. It's been a crap year but a good year for music, so here are mini-reviews + a playlist of songs that defined 2020!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ep7OTX1UYAI68jB.jpg "2020 BEST OF TURKISH MUSIC [thread]The year is almost over. The music mags have given their top 100s, we had #SpotifyWrapped , now it's time for my little round-up. It's been a crap year but a good year for music, so here are mini-reviews + a playlist of songs that defined 2020!")
The year is almost over. The music mags have given their top 100s, we had #SpotifyWrapped
, now it's time for my little round-up. It's been a crap year but a good year for music, so here are mini-reviews + a playlist of songs that defined 2020!
Here's the playlist. Feel free to read along as you listen 
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FV92ibbOpSaHyEGZl1dk1?si=NaiK3dA-Qxe7kuR9XXPfhA
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FV92ibbOpSaHyEGZl1dk1?si=NaiK3dA-Qxe7kuR9XXPfhA
The year ended with Anadolu Rock legends @MogollarOnline releasing their first album since 1999. The massive, two-disc LP revisits classics from their 53-year career. My favorite is the groovy instrumental gem "Haliç'te Güneşin Batışı" https://www.duvarenglish.com/the-return-of-anadolu-rock-legends-mogollar-article-55542
Melike Şahin has an astounding voice, but many of her songs are too heartbreaking for me to listen to regularly. I love when she does more dancy collaborations, like the psychedelic "Elimi Tut" with @kutiman, so we can enjoy her silken vocals minus the depression
@sahmeliksah
@sahmeliksah
Remember the Batman series from the '60s with the scenes of everyone doing the twist & the "swim"? The title track off @GayeSuAkyol's new EP "İsyan Manifesto" is a time machine to the swinging ;60s & Akyol our caped superhero rebelling against morality & sticking it to the man 
When @mabelmatiz wasn't spending 2020 challenging homophobia with style & grace, he was releasing mind-melting singles like "Toy" that combine the best of Anatolian folk poetry and Sufi mysticism under a searing hip-hop beat produced by DJ Artz.
@ozansarohan builds on the sound & feel of Turkish folk music with an urban singer-songwriter sensibility. After the great 2018 album Güneşe Türkü, he returned in 2020 with the moving single "Uyan" which shows that with his fretless guitar he's like Gen Z's answer to Erkan Oğur.
I stumbled upon @senceylik quite by accident, but "Kırıldı Vazo" became one of the songs I listened to most in 2020. The song about is about heartbreak, but to me it sounds like a sweltering, bougainvillea-scented summer night with a Greek island just out of reach across the sea.
You know when someone's music is important but you just can't get into it? Kalben is one of those artists for me. Clearly, the album Kalp Hanım is her most definitive statement as an artist. Listen to "Avrupa Var, Amerika Var," a beautiful extended metaphor about missing someone.
On his new album Kızılgerdan, @CanKazaz_ reinterprets a number of his earlier songs using more electronic production. The result is a powerful album full of sparkles, beeps, and a palette of warm colors. Kazaz is a versatile musician and producer combining folk, R&B, & rap.
I think Ati ve Aşk Üçgeni should get more love, as they're one of the more interesting acts in Turkish indie--far more creative than the copycat bands each with 10-word-long names. The single Çok Gizli has real Jessie Ware vibes with its shameless 70s smoothness. @ativeaskucgeni
With their tongue-in-cheek tropical vibes & vaporwave aesthetic, @Palmiyeler_ are a staple of Turkish indie rock. They were set to go on a US tour before the pandemic hit. Thankfully with their new album, 2020 didn't go to waste. Yakalım Alışveriş Merkezlerini is my personal pick
Rumors of a follow-up to rock group Sakin's 2008 debut have long tantalized fans. Vocalist Onurr has received abuse for breaking up the band and "going pop," writing songs for Sezen Aksu, Ayşe Hatun, etc. Sakin fans can calm down now: the 2nd album demos are available & glorious!
Indie-electronic duo @hedonutopia push themselves to new heights on Beyaz Durak. One of the best albums of 2020, it combines the trippy spaciness that is their trademark with an intimate warmth. Listen to the jangly melancholy of the song "Bronz" for the band's unique sound.
I can't listen to @can_gungor_ w/ out a box of tissues nearby. The orchestral swelling of the songs & the grainy warmth of his voice are a recipe for melancholy. In Dışarıda Kış, he sings "A cigarette in my mouth, I reach for another/I lay my head on the breast of any old grief."
Singer-songwriter @simgepinar has the sensibility of an acoustic Liz Phair or early Fiona Apple--a 90s girl w/ lots of feelings. Her songs are perfected suited to a movie soundtrack. Or else build your own: put on Güzel Şeyler from the window of a bus & watch the world flit by
Speaking of the 90s, I can't listen to @nilipekkimki's "Küçük Bir An" without remembering the opening riff of Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me." Her album Mektuplar feels like a romantic movie from the era w/ a deep undertow of grief. Highly recommended https://www.duvarenglish.com/columns/2020/05/08/broken-hearts-and-quarantine-songs-nilipeks-letters
Early in 2020, I praised Ekin Beril's debut album Dualite to the moon & back. I have no regrets. Her latest single "Fırtına" shows @Ekinbrlmusic carving out space for a new generation of Turkish pop that is both sensual & cerebral, comforting & futuristic. https://www.duvarenglish.com/columns/2020/03/06/the-women-saving-turkish-pop
Am I gushing too much with these reviews?
This list of the tops songs of 2020 is unapologetically subjective.
So not counting a few songs I'll be adding purely to due to their "cultural relevance," everything listed here is stuff I am willing and able to gush over.
This list of the tops songs of 2020 is unapologetically subjective.
So not counting a few songs I'll be adding purely to due to their "cultural relevance," everything listed here is stuff I am willing and able to gush over.
@novanorda is another singer in this brood of next generation pop stars. They may get their start on YouTube or TikTok, but like Nova they end up on the pages of Vogue. She's been giving us a slow trickle of dancy-emotional singles throughout 2020 that bode well for the album..
@LinPesto didn't do much in 2020 but give us a new version of "Ölmeden," a song from her 2019 EP. But I love the music of this mysterious, reclusive Ankara-based bedroom pop musician so much that I'm going to put her song on my list again this year--just because I can.
If you went to a US university in the early 2000s, there was that dude who kicked a hacky sack, played guitar, & won over all the girls with his creative/sensitive shtick. @evrencangunduz is that guy for me--almost too charming. But he also knows how to write a damn good song...
If you're listening to the playlist that goes with this thread, you've hopefully noticed that the songs have been organized by genre & arranged for maximum flow. Evrencan's "Yanımda Olmanı" gave us a funk vibe & we're ready now for the R&B portion of the evening, followed by rap.
You've got to love an artist who can name his album "KİMİM LAN BEN" & write a song called "Benim Suçum Günahım Ne?" @thisismertdemir is slowly making a name for this brand of self-pitying R&B vibes. It's a stylish and sleek sound that is certain to attract listeners
I don't really know how to put my finger on what Şam is all about, but the boy's got soul and certainly knows how to rap. There's something old-school about his beats and flow that keep me coming back. 2020 was a good year for him, with a new album and multiple good singles.
@hazegaze is a former literature student who gained a reputation as the first woman from Turkey writing & rapping in English. In 2020 she realized that you need to rap in Turkish to gain local fans. She quickly released a number of 
tracks like "Dardayım."
tracks like "Dardayım."
Seasoned rapper @kamufle34's new album 19T is something of a concept album, named after the Kadıköy-Ferhatpaşa bus line in Ιstanbul. The opening track "Sıkıcı ve Monoton," about the daily grind, ended up being prophetic about our lives under COVID-19.
Despite a busy 2020, Ezhel only released 1 solo track. "Allah'ından Bul" was worth the wait, w/ its jazzy beat & righteous "fuck the haters" lyrics:
I'm free but minds are imprisoned
I can't deal w/ you all, I'll light up cannabis
While music is my weapon, I can't be a terrorist
I'm free but minds are imprisoned
I can't deal w/ you all, I'll light up cannabis
While music is my weapon, I can't be a terrorist
I've written about rapper @itslilzey in depth, so I won't repeat everything here. Suffice it so say that "Zor" is one of the most ambitious concept song/videos of the year. Keep your eye on her. https://twitter.com/kenan_sharpe/status/1320676958146039809?s=20
With his first Turkish-language album, sad boy/bad boy image, collab with Zeynep Bastık, and appearance on O Ses Türkiye, 2020 was the year that Dutch-raised rapper Murda conquered hearts in Turkey @murdaworld https://www.duvarenglish.com/columns/2020/02/20/turkeys-romantic-rap-and-rb
Speaking of sad boys, the best song from Ezhel and Murda's aptly named joint album Made in Turkey was "Söz." I get that they're playing tough tough with songs like "Cümle Alem" and "Anadolu Flex," but I think the duo is at their best when they're doing love songs. "Aya," anyone?
You can't talk about Turkish music in 2020 without talking about Reynmen, more specifically his massive single "Leila." Yet this is also where I'm going to catch flack for the direction this list is going in, because I'm not above arabesk-rap nor am I above straight up "leş" pop.
If you like arabesk rap, then Rozz Kalliope is your girl. Best known for her "Benjamins" series, the rapper gives off serious gurbetçi vibes with her multilingual lyrics and autotuned vocals. Her latest single is "DarIılmışsın."
Ankara-raised, Istanbul-based rapper XiR is best known for his irreverent single "Angela Merkel." His new song "Sallan" was much discussed in 2020 for its impactful music video featuring footage of residents of a Romani neighborhood defiantly dancing
I hesitate to add these songs, but they reveal something interesting about where rap is going. Ohash, self-styled as "Lil Baba," is only 17 but already has collabs with Ezhel & Şam. YouTube influencer Berkan Güven has realized that rap is also lucrative, releasing songs as BEGE
I've never been a big Ben Fero fan, but the İzmir-born rapper's latest album YABANİ proves that he's an important voice in Turkish rap. It also doesn't hurt that he's working with DJ Artz and Bugy, the much sought-after producers who helped propel Ezhel to fame.
Speaking of Ezhel, 2 tracks from this now Berlin-based MC show the internationalization of Turkish rap. "Devam" shows him collaborating with Gentleman and Luciano, two huge names from the German scene. "Link UP" has him singing full verses in English. Next stop, global stardom?
Rapper Zen-G is best known from his role in the political hip-hop trio Tahribad-ı İsyan. He's been doing well as a solo artist too, as clear from the breezy jam "DELALÊ." Check out the music video which features beautiful Anatolian/Mesopotamian imagery
@sedaerciyes_ still only has 2 solo tracks, but they're enough to keep us anticipating what's next. 2020 gave us "Başa Sarıp Dur," a powerful R&B anthem accompanied by a stylish music video with suggestive imagery https://www.duvarenglish.com/columns/2020/02/20/turkeys-romantic-rap-and-rb
Rap producer Bugy again, this time working with pop star Edis. Talk about cross-over! "Perişanım" is perhaps my favorite guilty pleasure from 2020 with its snappy beat, catchy chorus, and relatable lyrics about making the same mistakes over and over https://www.duvarenglish.com/columns/2020/08/07/zoomer-pop-the-music-of-turkeys-generation-z
With great interest I've been tracking the mixing of English and Turkish lyrics, particularly in R&B songs from Turkey. Is it the K-pop effect? Songs like emir taha's "Huyu Suyu" certainly have international potential. But will anyone abroad notice?
@feridehilalakn is one of the most interesting names in Turkish pop these days. She has some of the futuristic image of Lady Gaga mixed with the emotive vocals of Sıla. She's been busy cementing her pop empire in 2020 with a string of hits, the best of which is "Yok Yok."
I'm not sure whether "Rampapapam" is catchy or just annoying, but it was definitely one of the defining pop songs of 2020. Despite being a collaboration among various rappers and singers, the most shining moment comes when Feride Hilal Akın sings her verse
Ece Mumay's "Galaksi," in contrast, IS just annoying. The beat of the song feels slightly off-balance, like watching a film with an overly highly aspect ratio. Yet there's something that keeps you coming back, like bad candy. I heard the song 1st in a taxi & couldn't forget it.
Okay, we're now getting into some embarrassing material, but I promised honesty. Oğuzhan Koç has had an interesting career writing film music, judging voice competitions, & working as a voice actor. But he can also write a serious tear-jerker, as you'll hear with "Kendime Sardım"
Zeynep Bastık and Emir Can İğrek are two names to know from the new generation of pop stars. They're not quite my taste, but they rack up listens on YouTube and Spotify and are clearly here to stay. The ballad "Dargın" is schmaltzy, but you'll be humming the chorus in no time.
How do you explain "Cennetten Çiçek" to someone who hasn't experienced it? It's a slightly arabesk song that an artist named Zehra decided to cover in a club-ready, frenetic, TikTok-inspired style. It's completely awful, but also sort of amazing.
Finally, something we can like unironically: Aleyna Tilki. Seriously though, the person who disses @aleynatilki should be ready for a fight. In "Yalan" particularly, she's coming into her own as an artist (though she only has 5 songs released to date). The video too is 
I got perverse pleasure from putting Aleyna Tilki and @ELZANDTHECULT side by side on the playlist, but "Yalan" & "Dystopian Prayer" sound surprisingly good one after the other. ELZ is an uncompromising artist producing dark electronic music w/ a futuristic, goth, drag aesthetic
As I've written, the genre known as "dark wave" has become a cultural export for Turkish music--at least among certain niche fans abroad. Coming after the success of She Past Away and Jakuzi, @affet_robot have shown they've got what it takes with "Budala" https://www.duvarenglish.com/columns/2020/02/29/spaces-of-hope-turkeys-darkwave-scene
London-based producer/musician Glasxs has had a good year despite the pandemic. Besides releasing new songs under various monikers, she's started an interesting podcast (Galaksi BUM) interviewing women in Turkey's creative industries. Here's to an even better 2021@glassinthepark!
Another person to watch is Alaca. His music combines hip hop, R&B, and a style that gets known as neo-soul (think James Blake). His 10Gün is a concept album based on Bocaccio's Decameron (stories told over 10 days while the plague ravaged Florence in the 1300s). Timely stuff!
Quick genre transition, but jazz pianist Bilge Günaydın's album DAYDREAMS was another highlight of 2020. A particular favorite of mine is the song "Üverincka," named after a poem/book by Cemal Süreya. The song also features fretless guitar master and composer Cenk Erdoğan.
Reggae! The Istanbul band Bosphoroots released their debut album "Rizom" in 2020. Listening to the places Turkish reggae is going, one wishes that clubs were open & Nayah was still in Taksim so we could dance on the smoky terrace to some old-fashioned dub
We already had a Zeynep Bastık song, but another defining song of the year was her "Uslanmıyor Bu." With its horns and reggae-style up-beat strumming, the song gives off warm weather vibes despite the lyrics about a heart that just won't wise up despite how many blows it’s taken.
Where did İkiye On Kala come from & how did they get so big so fast? With 30M streams "Kafamda Kentsel Dönüşümler" is a breakaway hit. The lo-fi 80s sound wouldn't be out of place on a Lin Pesto song & shows that that the barrier between hipster & mainstream has been eroded.
Evdeki Saat is from the same metaphorical school as İkiye On Kala. The song "Uzunlar V1" links pop and indie but does it in a slightly denuded and unsatisfying way that makes you wish you were just listening to indie or just pop rather than this hip elevator music.
There are a few names who didn't make it on the list but still deserve honorable mention (Melis Güven, Sunset Stream, Bade, AYDEED, Yase, burakbey, Kool Jane, Akın Güngör, Alper Çağan). There are also great groups who didn't match the playlist's sound (BaBa ZuLa, Nada). Who else?
I want to end by taking a chance on a song from a new artist discovered by @EpicIstanbul: Damla Topçu. "Tek Derdim" is her only song, but it has a R&B groove well suited to the spirit of 2020. It features an evocative music video with a sister power theme
