Baba Zula

Formed by Osman Murat Ertel (electric saz, vocals) and Mehmet Levent Akman (electronics, percussions) in 1996, BaBa ZuLa took Turkish psychedelic pioneers of the 1960s like Moğollar as their inspiration and foundation and added dub , electronics and ritualistic soundscapes on top for what they called Istanbul psychedelia, a scene that's since grown up around them. BaBa ZuLa have played all over the world, won awards for their work in film and theater, and had their albums counted among the most prestigious ever released in Turkey. They've also built a global network of like-minded performers, experimental souls in all genres of music, working with people as varied as Turkish opera singer Semiha Berksoy, dub mixer Mad Professor, and Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit. In typically perverse and playful fashion they continue performing around the world composing and writing their own lyrics and designing their electric saz’es.