HALF MOON (medioriental musick)

BÜLENT

BENIMLE OYNAR MISIN

Original Issue: 1974 1 Numara (AK.0002)

Reissue: 1993 1 Numara ( AK.1001) - 2004 World Psychedelia (WPC6-8472)

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Margot-meter: 4 moons / 5

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1 Günaydın (2:04)
2 Kediler (3:33)
3 Olmalı Mı Olmamalı Mı (2:11)
4 Anlamsız (1:34)
5 Herşey Sevgiyle Başlar (3:05)
6 Suna Abla (1:54)
7 Bahar Türküsü (2:23)
8 Benimle Oynar Mısın (2:24)
9 Yağmur (2:34)
10 Sen Varsın (2:11)
11 Yüzünü Dökme Küçük Kız (2:18)
12 Şık Latife (2:54)
13 Dört Kişili Düş (3:13)
14 Günaydın II (1:53)

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from Progressive Homestead:

Bülent Ortaçgil's first release, "Benimle Oynar Misin" from 1974 is recently unofficially re-released by Turkish label 1 Numera. It's a beautiful psych folk / prog folk song album from an incredible quality and with an international appeal.

Bülent was backed by a team of very good musicians like Onno Tunc and Atilla Ozdemiroglu.
The record is regarded by Hans Pokora's Record Collector Dreams book as psych folk, where it received four stars.

Every once in a while, you hear a record for the very first time and it becomes instantly ingrained into your memory. You intuitively know every note before it comes, you can hum along from start to finish, you feel that it has always been with you and will stay with you for eternity.

Bülent Ortacgil's absolutely phenomenal 1974 debut Benimle Oynar Misin is considered a landmark album in his native Turkey, but after three decades the singer-songwriter remains virtually unknown in the United States.

Bülent's songs are written and arranged simply and tastefully, with his voice and gorgeous fingerpicked guitar playing in the forefront of almost every track, and sparse accompaniment on piano, trumpet, saxophone, strings, and several other instruments played by a long list of sidemen and women. The music on this record follows in the tradition of Nick Drake, Donovan, Duncan Browne, The Pentangle, Dando Shaft, Fairport Convention, and other like-minded british folk singers and folk rock bands. The mood is melancholic, but with a strong underlying sense of hope and joy.

Even though I don't understand a word of Turkish, this is one of the most moving and engrossing records I've heard in ages. İt's sort of unfortunate that the liner notes don't include English translations, because it's hard to imagine that the lyrics are anything less than brilliant. At the same time, it's refreshing to listen and pay attention only to the emotion in the voice and not to its verbal content.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the one to beat as far as reissues go in 2004. İt's truly too beautiful to put into any words that I've ever heard, and after spending just a few weeks with it i already consider it one of my absolute favorite albums of all time. Why has it taken so long for this masterpiece to see the light of day in our country? Don't sleep on this one, folks, this is an album that promises to stick with you for a long, long time.

Willy Van Der Kerkho

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from Bomp!:

From the hidden depths of the eastern Mediterranean, down in the Cappadoccian mystery lands, comes Bülent Ortaçgil, one of national musical treasures of Turkey, but one that to Western ears remains unheard. To this day. Ortaçgil, or Bülent, which became his artistic name in his beginnings, during the much loved and never forgotten sixties, made a name to himself on the same scene as Fikret Kizilok, who has now made some waves since his inclusion on Damon and Naomi's compilation "International Sad Hits".

But Bülent's music, much as it was of its time, was not at all sad, even though it also came from the heart. And what a heart. It could be said that his voice was indeed as sweet as that of the Golden Horn, and that his music united two continents as much as the Galata Bridge united two parts of Istanbul.

For Bülent's music was deeply Turkish but assimilated the folk flavours of the day, British or American, but the most gentle and perfumed ones. Want names? Donovan and Nick Drake, mainly.

Bülent's "Benimile Oynar Misin?" has to be heard to be believed, really. Do yourself a favour. Listen to Bülent.

Ferran Llaurad