Baris Manço
2023

Geography, an old passion! It is said "to read a map" and rarely has an idiomatic expression proven to be so spot-on, because a map is like a book, in which mountains, plains, seas, rivers can almost turn into pictograms that tell stories and vicissitudes. A quick glance at a map of the Mediterranean, for example, is enough to realize that its peninsulas are like fingers reaching out southward, except for the Anatolian peninsula: it calmly flaunts its east-west orientation (or vice versa?), positioning itself as a bridge between two continents of the Old World, a gateway to the orient for Europeans, and a portal to the west for those coming from Asia.
Baris Manço, the godfather of "Anadol Rock," a multimedia superstar on the Turkish scene between the '60s and 1991, the year of his untimely death, never missed an opportunity to mention this in his interviews. Actor, showman, beloved TV personality, but above all a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, Manço always demonstrated his ability to be a citizen of the world, developing from a young age through long stays in France, England, and Belgium, embracing the charm of psychedelic (and later progressive) rock and hippie culture, and merging it with his immense passion for traditional Anatolian music. These were characteristics that Baris knew how to express even in his look, which often appears on all the pages dedicated to the worst album covers ever: long black hair, drooping mustache, cloaks, and accessories that harken back to the Ottoman past; somewhat garish, perhaps, but with something unique and magnetic.
After lining up a series of 45 RPM successes in his homeland, Manço, accompanied by his new band Kurtulan Ekspress, arrived at the LP format, understood as an organic work and not merely a collection of hits, only in 1975, and he dedicated it to his country with a futuristic vision: indeed, 2023 marks the centenary of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's revolution, the father of the Turkish Republic conceived as a secular, modern, pro-European state. Manço sings in Turkish, and it is really difficult to say how he imagines his country, unless one decides to spend a few hours with an online translator, most of the time totally unreliable. It's better then to rely on his music, in which an exciting fusion between traditional melodies, pop rock, "space" ambitions, and progressive almost touches funky shades.
Already in the opening, entrusted to the track Acıh'da Bağa Vir!, the oriental melodies accompanied by the traditional saz are supported by the robust sound of the Korg synthesizer, with a nasal tone that recalls certain passages of ELP's Tarkus. Synthesizer, Solina, and various electronic effects recur several times, often naively (or even clumsily), yet managing to create a solemn, at times melancholic atmosphere. The instrumental 2023 sets the coordinates on which the structure of the album is built, melodic passages not lacking in epicity, a measured and happy use of winds (sax and flute) which at certain moments brings the music close to the Mediterranean prog of Osanna or the more symphonic groups of the German scene (Novalis, especially). Percussions and wah-wah guitar form the backbone for the mysterious Yolverin Ağalar Beyler! and the subdued, driving Kol Bastı!
In the traditional Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım! Manço's warm voice is almost hosted by the counterpoint entrusted to the flute and the cosmic carpets entrusted to the organ, while the epic narration of the suite Baykoca Destanı passes with great ease through pop rhythm at the edge of disco, electronic passages and breaks in odd themes conducted with surprising simplicity. At the center of the album, Yine Yol Göründü Gurbete is appreciated, a sunny and accommodating anthem as if the Moody Blues were born in Istanbul.
Listening to 2023, considering that we have now reached the year sung in its grooves, one cannot help but wonder how much the current Turkey of Erdogan corresponds to the vision that Baris Manço entrusted to his first album. Baris, however, in Turkish means "peace," and even without understanding a single word, in his music, one can surely feel the sensation of peace and reconciliation between the souls of Manço: music that, with strong roots in its national identity, gently opens its horizon to the entire world.