Karaca, Cem
Nem Kaldi? (pd)
Picture disc edition. Sophisticated and passionate, with flamboyant taste in sunglasses, Cem Karaca led Istanbul's music fans through a period of violent political turmoil. Karaca reworked traditional folk lyrics with molten electric bass lines that played up both a poet's broiling righteousness and also his listeners' common ground with their elders in Turkey's history. 1975's 'Nem Kaldi?' gathers more '60s-'70s singles that lead the listener through Karaca's own musical history, skipping across various collaborations. Sink deeper into the intrigue both musical and otherwise as fractious personnel changes and real-life assassins multiply, yet the double-time drums and badass synthesizer schwings pound on.