Dirtmusic
Bu Bir Ruya

Hugo Race, Chris Eckman, and Chris Brokaw (who left the Dirtmusic project in 2010) were literally struck by the Festival au Désert of Timbuktu in 2008, an experience that led them to Bamako and allowed them to collaborate over time with local artists such as Tamikrest, Ben Zabo, and Samba Touré. The project continued even after the coup in Mali in 2012 and has been enriched with new meanings and new sounds. Geographical horizons have also expanded. The latest album, set to be released on January 26 and titled "Bu Bir Ruya" ("like in a dream"), was recorded in the suburbs of Istanbul with visionary Turkish musician Murat Ertel of Baba Zula and the collaboration of Umit Adakale.

Indeed, Murat Ertel and his hallucinatory visions, a trademark of Baba Zula's sound, as well as the distinctive sound of his saz (commonly referred to as "Saracen guitar") are at the heart of this work loaded with anxieties and political content in a contradictory and difficult historical moment for the entire Mediterranean basin. Here, Istanbul historically stands as one of the most conflicted centers, yet at the same time, a timeless place whose atmospheres are a source of inspiration.

The first track, "Bi de sen soyle," immediately showcases the typical elements of this album: repetitive and hypnotic tribal percussion, the sound of the saz, swirling bass grooves, bursts of electrified guitars, the dark blues vocalisms of Hugo and Chris, and Murat's mantra recital, while the proud screams of the ancient warriors of the Mughal Empire and drone suggestions rage in the background. "The Border Crossing," characterized by a sound full of echoes and reverb and desert atmospheres, the rock-blues of "Go The Distance," and "Safety In Numbers" essentially reproduce the same sound, a kind of afro-beat with psychedelic-obsessive characteristics. However, the most interesting moments are the "unreleased" ones: the cinematic suggestions of "Love Is A Foreign Country," interpreted by the wonderful voice of Gaye Su Akyol; the dub sound of "Outrage," and the meditative atmospheres of "Bur Bir Ruya," the latter two created with the collaboration of Gorkem Sen and his "yaybahar," an acoustic instrument developed by Sen himself that emits its distinctive sound by transmitting the vibrations of the strings to drum-like percussion through spiral springs.

Murat Ertel and the air of the Bosphorus have breathed new life into one of the most interesting projects of recent years, crossing the Mediterranean Sea to continue the search for the origins of that musical genre we call "blues," something we have carried within us since the dawn of time.