Gaye Su Akyol

(Turkey)

Gaye Su Akyol by Glitterbeat
Gaye Su Akyol by Glitterbeat

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Located somewhere indefinably between Anatolian roots and Oriental psychedelia, Gaye Su Akyol’s ingenious melding of influences covers a broad, and visually inventive canvas, bearing the influence of her Anatolian family history, her love of Turkish singing stars such as Selda Bağcan and Müzeyyen Senar, her teenage discovery of the likes of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Einstürzende Neubauten, and significantly, her later epiphanous encounter with the voice of Grace Slick singing ‘White Rabbit’.

The daughter of a famous Turkish painter, Akyol studied anthropology and worked as an artist herself before creating music took over when she met the band Bubituzak. Something clicked and together they recorded her debut, Develerle Yaşıyorum, in 2013. The mix of her sensual vocals with twangy surf guitars, moody electronics and Turkish rhythms, presented with her inventive videos became the new sound of Istanbul.

Gaye Su Akyol - vocals
Ali Güçlü Simsek - guitar
Gökhan Sahinkaya - bass
Görkem Karabudak - keyboards, drums
Emrah Atay - drums