Southern Europe
The sound of Turkey
Anatolian rock did something almost nobody else managed: fused psychedelic rock with a modal folk tradition without either side losing. The reissue market found it late and deservedly.
297 artists in the catalog.
What Turkey does that nowhere else does
Genres far more common here than across the rest of the catalog. The multiplier is how much more common, weighted by how many artists carry it.
Five records to start with
Not a canon — a way in. Each one links to what it is, who it's for and where to go next.
Turkish artists worth walking into
Ordered by how much we can tell you, not just by how well-known they are.
Zeki Müren
Ottoman classical music
Where to start →Ajda Pekkan
pop music
Where to start →Fazıl Say
classical music · traditional folk music
Where to start →Sagopa Kajmer
hip-hop · rapping
Where to start →Sezen Aksu
pop music
Where to start →İbrahim Tatlıses
popular music
Where to start →Sertab Erener
dance-pop · pop music
Where to start →Nilüfer
pop music
Where to start →Tarkan
dance-pop · folk-pop
Where to start →Sibel Can
pop music
Where to start →Ahmet Kaya
protest song
Where to start →Teoman
rock music
Where to start →