Planet Ears presents: Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek

Derya Yildirim and Grup Simsek return with their third album Dost 2, the second in a two-part series following 2021's highly acclaimed Dost 1. On the eight-track release, Turkish singer, bagama player and multi-instrumentalist Derya Yildirim and her international band of brothers and sisters continue their psychedelic journey, meandering through Anatolian folk music and poetry with their electrifying grooves while exploring their own lives and personal experiences.

Formed in 2014, the group has built a stellar reputation with two albums and an EP with their intoxicating blend of Anatolian folk, 1970s Turkish rock, psychedelia, pop and jazz. On Dost 2, reinterpretations of Turkish classics and the band's own compositions are seamlessly blended through imaginative arrangements and captivating grooves, with past and present colliding in a single song. While rooted in the Anatolian tradition, the band draws from a boundless cosmos of sound and builds on the contributions of each band member.

The deep respect for the musical legends of Anatolia also shines through the new album, such as in the rousing "Darıldım Darıldım", which was originally written by Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, the popular Turkish folk musician and poet who is an important pillar of Şimşek's music. With its wah-wah guitars, driving synthesizers and funky rhythms, the track feels uplifting and danceable, but is actually a protest song written when Mahzuni Şerif was in prison: "People who grew up with this culture can embrace this heavy content with the rhythm and body movements, so it's not strange to dance to it," says Yıldırım.

Presented by ByteFM