ASK

TRACKLIST Badi Sabah Olmadan Su Siziyor Leylim Ley Dere Geliyor Cit Cit Cedene Rakiya Su Katamam Canim Oy Kalk Gidelim Guzelligin On Para Etmez Doktor Civanim INFO With Ask, the Amsterdam-based sextet turn away from the electronic, synth-drenched sound of their 2021 albums, †lem and Yol. While those two, created at home during the pandemic, paid homage to the electronic pop of the 80s and early 90s, Ask, marks an exuberant return to the 70s Anatolian folk-rock sound that characterised Altin Gün™s first two albums, On (2018) and Gece (2019). But there™s development here too. Ask is the closest the band have come so far to capturing the infectious energy of their live performances. šIt™s definitely connecting more with a live sound  almost like a live album,› says bassist Jasper Verhulst. šWe, as a band, just going into a rehearsal space together and creating music together instead of demoing at home.› šWe didn™t record it like we did the last album,› agrees vocalist Merve Dasdemir. šWe basically produced that one at home because of the pandemic. Now we™ve gone back to recording live on tape.› How many more worlds do Altin Gün visit in this joyful expedition? šRakiya Su Katamam› is glowering space rock as though Gong had taken a stopover on the Bosphorus. šCanim Oy› is a psychedelic freak-beat stomper from a world where Istanbul™s Kadiköy district was the Carnaby Street of the east. šGüzelligin On Para Etmez› is a dreamy acid-folk anthem. And the finale, šDoktor Civanim,› is an irresistible slice of sci-fi disco camp with lava-lamp synth squiggles that wouldn™t sound out of place next to Baris Manço™s šBen Bilirim.› Fresh yet timeless. Rooted in antiquity yet yearning for heavenly futures. Ask wants to take you places. All you have to do is strap yourself in.