Whenever Tülay German is mentioned, »Burçak Tarlası« is usually mentioned in the same breath. The single released in 1964, for which Tülay German rearranged a Türkü as a pop song, is considered one of the milestones in the early development of Anadolu pop, which has been experiencing a never-ending revival for some time now. German, who was originally trained as a singer of classical Turkish music, is by no means a one-hit wonder, but one of the most versatile voices of the second half of the 20th century. One of the highlights of her career is undoubtedly the album she released together with the double bass player François Rabbath in 1980, on which she turned the Anadolu principle on its head again. After an enforced emigration to France, where she sang largely in French under the name Toulaï, this first of their two joint albums marked a return to the Turkish language – more specifically the Aşık, folk poets like Nazım Hikmet, to whom the second LP that followed in 1982 was dedicated. This is probably why the Zehra label is including another track based on a Hikmet text with the reissue of the first collaboration. As if that alone were not fulminant enough. German and Rabbath enter into a triple monologue. Voice and music harmonise there just as much as tradition and modernity, text and sound. Even if German’s skilful phrasing is clearly in the foreground against the sometimes spartan instrumentation: This is not about two egos at loggerheads, but the strange magic of folkloric forms carefully transposed into the present day. The result is timeless through and through.
Various Artists
Sweet Rebels: The Golden Era Of Algerian Pop-Raï
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