ERSEN by ERSEN

16 schizoid slices of Arabesque Funk Rock from the silver-tongued chameleon of the electric Anatolia Pop Movement. Featuring Les Mogul, Zafer Dilek. Kardaslar and members of The Baris Manco Band.If any singular exponent of the powerful Turkish Anadolu Pop scene could be described as eclectic it would have to be Ersen. His chameleon image in Turkey has teetered on the edge of versatile and schizophrenic over his 40-year sporadic career and his versatile talents as a vocalist have served as a refreshing alternative to his contemporaries in one of the most progressive musical micro-cultures in the history of rock music. As a singer he has one of the most unique softly spoken vocal deliveries on the Anatolian Rock scene and as a composer his use of long heavy rhythmical passages punctuated by his signature 'panting' vocalisations and throbbing basslines are unmistakable. As an artist who had started out playing the type of romantic ballads which wouldn't sound out place in your local Turkish restaurant, Ersen had been transformed into a credible ambassador for the much publicised Anadolu Rock phenomenon and, to some sceptics dismay, he had travelled via rock 'n roll, traditional folk and pop trends along the way. In some senses the Anadolu rock scene mirrored the likes of Brazil's Tropicalia movement where social politics could potentially eclipse the music, so when the likes of Ersen chose to remain apolitical he was often criticised by the unduly disappointed radicals of young Turkey. Where the vociferous Selda Bagcan could be compared to Os Mutantes's Rita Lee, Ersen took the role as a politically pedestrian Roberto Carlos.