Turkey’s Ekin Fil, aka Ekin Üzeltüzenci, has recorded since at least 2008, though her tracks are filled with an eternity of mystery that could only come from a country so steeped in civilization’s history.
Reds is beautiful, noisy and mind-boggling. Over-driven organs meld with electronics and reverb to create Bach-ian droning fugues that have as much in common with Faust as they do with post-black metal no-classicism like Burzum‘s prison albums and especially Roman Saenko‘s Dark Ages project. Waves of electric hums provide the basis for distant vocals and fuzzy melodies to swirl in a magical fog. Take all the rock elements out of Bardo Pond, but leave the noise. It’s spiritual, demonic, religious and occultist, a quagmire of contradictions so energetic that they fuse into a single unit, a point of opposing light and darkness where shadows frolic in the brightness.
The underground Turkish music scene still remains uncharted territory to us in the West. It’s time we take notice and recognize what the country has to offer. Thanks to Exotic Pylon, we have an excellent starting point in Ekin Fil.
