Apaşlar - Anadolu Oyun Havası (1967)

In 1961, in Istanbul, Turkey, the local bands Sen Gencler and Kuartet-X united as one to create this band, named after The Shadow’s “Apache”. It wasn’t until 1967 that the group really took off, after recruiting Cem Karaca, the group’s new vocalist. Under Karaca’s songwriting skills, the group went touring in Germany and signed a record deal. They recorded with the Ferdy Klein Orchestra, returned to Turkey as cultural icons, and incorporated Hendrix-like theatrics on stage. Tension between Karaca and the group’s guitarist led to the group splitting up in 1970, but Karaca would go on to become one of Turkey’s greatest singers of all time, largely molding Anatolian rock. He passed away in 2004 after a career of numerous successful recordings.

This song comes from the group’s earlier successful years. It’s an instrumental Anatolian rock song, meaning it fuses elements of Turkish folk music with rock and roll. Perhaps it’s being culturally ignorant, but it sounds a lot like surf rock to me. And that’s a great thing.



Apaşlar - Anadolu Oyun Havası (1967)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)