Bunalim - Bunalim (1971)
Bunalim - Bunalim (1971)
Very interesting Acid Psych with ethnic drops.
Bunalim - Bunalim [Turkish Heavy Psych 1971/2006 Shadoks Music]
Artist: BUNALIM
Album: Bunalim
Released: 1970-71-72 Turkey
Source: CD 2006 Shadoks Music ( S.M.078 )
Genre: Heavy Psychedelic
*** Collecting the few singles released by the act in the early '70s, Turkey's Bunalim is notable for being a fairly unsettled group in terms of lineup only one performer, guitarist, and occasional vocalist Aydin Cakus, appear on all the singles. But the grab bag of styles that results throughout the disc is a good enough portrait of what the Turkish rock scene of the time was like occasional bursts of wild, rampant energy set against a calmer, more conservative interpretation labeled "Andalou rock," which, according to the liner notes, none of the main members of Bunalim were too thrilled about having to perform. These tensions aside and allowing for the unstable lineup, this compilation never fails to be enjoyable; if many of the songs might be too staid for modern listeners there (or indeed elsewhere), as atmospheric heavyriffing freakouts with touches of traditional music they're simply marvelous. Opening instrumental "Basak Saclim" could well have been the theme song to any biker movie of the time if it was set on the Anatolian plateau instead of Death Valley. Meanwhile, the Aside of the first single, "Tas Var Kopek Yok," is pure rough craziness, with barked vocals, sudden midsong silences and a martial, rolling beat that finds its own logic, even wrapping up with a random conversational snippet and a barking dog. Those songs in the Andalou rock style featuring traditional singing styles, such as "Hele Hele Gel," may lack in the total insanity department but are still wonderfully offkilter and if "Bir Dunya da Bana Ver" ends up with a more polite freakbeat style for most of its length, the opening seconds alone are chaos incarnate.
- Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
First-ever CD reissue of some of the most amazing Turkish music ever recorded: wild, raw and with fuzz guitar all over. Bunalim (which means "depression" or "frustration" in Turkish), founded in 1969, was one of the most well-known underground groups on the Turkish music scene of the early '70s. Although their discography is limited to only a few singles, Bunalim is regarded as a seminal band in Turkish music history, who paved the way for its members to find fame later on in their careers (playing with Erkin Koray, Mogollar, Ter, Edip Akbayram). Bunalim released 6 singles which are incredibly rare, and never completed a whole album. They were produced and managed by legendary Turkish rock musician and instigator of the Anatolian rock movement Cem Karaca, one of the most important rock singers in Turkey during the 1970s. This release is a blend of their work from 1970-1972, and features everything from American-influenced garage to early punk experiments to fuzzed-out psychedelic heavy Eastern drone, including a cover of Iron Butterfly's "Get Out Of My Life, Woman" ("Yeter Artik Kadin") sung in Turkish. They say about the band: "God, they were crazy! Running all nude down the Istiklal Street, psychedelic light shows, crazy paintings all over the stage wall and screaming of LSD! LSD! in their live shows." As good as the best recordings from Erkin Koray, Bunalim are, even for most Turkish collectors, a well-kept secret. The LP version reissued by Shadoks sold out within a blink of the eye.
The bass is right out front in the picture of the band on the cover -- and it's also right out front in the sound of their music as well -- helping to drive the rhythms of this Turkish combo with a rolling sound that's almost funky at times! Bunalim hail from the same Turkish scene as Erkin Koray -- and the group's founding bassist also played on Koray's classic Elektronik Turkuler -- a record that's quite similar to this one with its mix of Turkish roots, psychedelic roots, and trippy production! And although the group is represented here with material recorded over a 3 year period, with a shifting instrumental lineup -- there's still a core sound that's really unified, with plenty of great Andalusian elements in the mix!
Tracklist:
01. Basak Saclim
02. Hele Hele Gel
03. Bunalim
04. Tas Var Kopek Yok
05. Yollar
06. Yeter Artik Kadin
07. Bir Dunya Da Bana Ver
08. Kinali Gelin
09. Bir Yar Loin
10. Ask Senin Bildigin Gibi Degil
11. Ayrilik Olmasaydi
12. Guzel