I always marvel at how the influence of music can stretch far and wide, all over the globe. Today’s band hailed from Turkey, but their sound (as you will hear) was greatly inspired by the Western sounds of the 1960’s; the Shadows, especially!
Translating as ‘Silhouettes’, Silüetler were a group founded in Instanbul by bass player/guitarist, Mesut Aytunca in the late 1950’s. Together, both he and Erol Bilem created the band and began to create and play both traditional and self-penned compositions. Their sound resided in both the old and new, based on traditional Turkish music, but arranged and played out on guitars and modern instrumentation. Several sources have described how ”Silüetler took Turkish music out from an identity crisis…”
Their popularity is (perhaps) testament to that and throughout the late 60’s they went on to release a good chunk of rock’n’roll, surf goodness!
By the late 1960’s, some of the members cut loose from the band and went on to form (the great) Moğollar, and though the rest of the band continued for a little while longer, they had fully disbanded by 1972.
Released in 1965, Kaşık Havası was the B-side to one of Silüetler’s earliest 45’s and demonstrates their surf-prowess perfectly! This track was actually the B-side, however, and accompanied the heady, dreaminess of Sis (listen below)! The contrast works a treat, with both songs exploring all spectrums of their sound. I do like the hastiness of Kaşık Havası’s and the way those guitar melodies soar. Yes, they are very Shadows-esque, but I do appreciate the way this has been intertwined with their original Turkish traditional sounds!
Check it out above …
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