Bass player Jasper Verhulst formed Altin Gun to channel his deep affection for Turkish folk and psychedelia, and Gece is the follow-up to the Amsterdam-based band's hotly tipped 2018 debut, On. Drawing from Anatolian rock & folk of the late '60s and '70s, the band pumps out "explosive, funky and transcendent" psych rock for the modern audience, and the record makes for an electric listen full of fresh grooves and gritty psychedelic textures. What Verhulst & co. excel in is reimagining the sounds they are covering: "we're not trying to copy it, but these are the sounds we like and we're trying to make them our own." Vocals from Erdinc Ecevit & Merve Dasdemir seduce over instrumentals consisting of the saz (a three-string Turkish lute), keyboards, guitar, bass, & drums, and Altin Gun's interpretations of Turkey's musical past (except original piece "Sofor Bey") are best showcased on: "Yolcu," "Supurgesi Yoncadan," "Leyla," and "Kolbasti."

• cream colored vinyl
• limited edition of 500
• music label: ATO Records / 2019

reviewed by singing in japanese 05/19