With Antonin Voyant (guitar, flute), Andrea Piro (bass), Graham Mushnik (organ, synthesizer) and Greta Eacott (drums, percussion), singer and saz player Derya Yıldırım has formed Grup Şimşek. Fresh, modern and highly danceable, the young quintet stands for an electrifying sound, combining Anatolian folk with modern grooves and bringing in elements of psychedelic music, jazz and funk. Originally, the musicians come from Turkey, England, France, Italy and Germany. Grup Şimşek is thus a vivid example of an East-West connection, for example, when they confront the melancholic sound of the Turkish lute Bağlama and Yıldırım's wistful vocals with wah-wah guitars and acid synthesizers in a traditional like "Oy Oy Emine." "With their symbiosis (...) Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek are currently helping Turkish-European crossover pop to new popularity," makes the Internet radio byte.fm whets the appetite for the album "Kar Yağar", which is due for release on May 24 on the Swiss label Bongo Joe Records.
More information on the events: https://www.brotfabrik.de/events/derya-yildirim-grup-simsek/
