By Fernando Neira
Costará retener en la memoria el nombre de Derya Yıldırım, nos volveremos locos buscando en el teclado los caracteres especiales de & Grup Şimşek y hasta habrá quien deba refrescar sus cada vez más precarias nociones de geografía con un repasito a la lección de la península de Anatolia, pero todos esos esfuerzos merecen (muchísimo) la pena si se trata de familiarizarnos con este fabuloso cuarteto turco de pop étnico y rabiosamente universal desde el orgullo y reivindicación de lo autóctono.
The band consists of Berlin-based singer and bağlama player Derya Yıldırım, keyboardist Graham Mushnik, guitarist/flutist Antonin Voyant and drummer Helen Wells.
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – known for revitalizing Anatolian folk music and instrumentation by infusing timeless melodies with a modern psychedelic flair – announce their new album, Yarın Yoksa, out March 14th via Big Crown Records, along with the album’s lead single, “Hop Bico.” Hear the new track and pre-save / order the album here: https://lnk.to/HopBico.
Yarın Yoksa translates to “if there is no tomorrow,” and delves into deeply personal pain and collective resistance with a central thread of loss, longing and hope for change running throughout. Throughout the new album recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Leon Michels (El Michels Affair, Clairo), the show-stopping intensity of frontwoman Derya Yıldırım is on display along with the psychedelic soul of Grup Şı̇mşek. Born in Hamburg, Germany to Turkish parents, Yıldırım grew up influenced by her family’s Anatolian background and the myriad of cultures in the city and plays the bağlama – a seven stringed Turkish lute – throughout the album (“there’s just something very magical about it”). She also sings in her parents’ native Anatolian with lyrics that are poetic with symbolic language, metaphors and storytelling. Together, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek have created a memorable and emotional record that challenges genre while having broad appeal and a powerful message.
“Hop Bico” is an old Anatolian folk standard that Yıldırım’s grandmother used to sing to her about a playful character named Bico who is a symbol of vitality and spirit. Lyrics “Hop Bico, hopla Bico” (“Hop Bico, jump Bico”) is a call to action, urging him to lead the group in celebration while embracing life through dance and movement. Derya’s grandmother had put her own slant on the traditional song, and Derya’s is different still — brought into the 21st century with a slow psychedelic twist and her own hypnotic vocals. Derya insists that if you’re going to play an old folk song then you have to contribute something new, “otherwise you might as well just put the old record on.” “Hop Bico” follows previous singles, “Cool Hand” and “Yakamoz” which were released as a 7” earlier this year.
Listen to “Hop Bico” here: https://lnk.to/HopBico.
Ten years ago, while participating in a community theater project, Derya met French musicians Graham Mushnik (keyboards) and Antonin Voyant (guitar/bass) from Catapulte Records and formed the band Grup Şimşek with Helen Wells, a drummer from Cape Town, South Africa joining in 2021. While the band is truly international, they eschew the term ‘world music’, preferring instead ‘outernational’ which they say suggests a sound that’s more inclusive or “beyond borders.”
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek embody what defines Anatolian folk music: “You need a groove and a melody, and everything around it is free,” notes Derya. It’s this ethos that guides the band’s songwriting and the way they take on Anatolian folk standards. Yıldırım adds, “I believe the melodies shouldn’t be changed because we are responsible to preserve music in the correct way. Our versions respect the roots. It’s the same lyrics and melody, but it has a different soul maybe.” While it’s easy to think of folk music as a music of the past, she insists it’s just as important today. “Some of these poems were written hundreds of years ago but they’re still relevant. This music is so important because it remains the voice of the people, the minority, and the oppressed.”
After self-producing multiple albums, they signed with New York’s Big Crown Records in 2024 and teamed up with Grammy-nominated producer Leon Michels (El Michels Affair) for Yarın Yoksa. The new album embodies their balance of preservation and innovation across nine original compositions and three traditional folk songs. It is a record that will enchant any listener regardless of language barrier with Derya’s passion and authenticity front and center and music too moving to deny. Yarın Yoksa is sure to captivate the hearts and minds of all those who hear it, and just wait til you experience them play it live…
último corte: Midlake, teclados analógicos
