Turkish Hamam Catharsis

DjSet / MARA#SERI / Turkish Hamam Catharsis by Seri Cig on Mixcloud

After a more gradual industrialisation of Western Europe, the Middle East was industrialised almost a hundred years later, but with such a sudden that its effects hit Turkey with a much stronger impact. The need for new sources of income and thus for safety resulted in the emigration to the cities and even to far foreign lands ('gurbet'). The socio-cultural changes manifested themselves in the new emerging music scene of the 1960s and 70s: with oriental instruments such as the saz, davuls, or zurnas with a shamanistic tinge, 'arabesque' music originally grappled with social issues of work, exploitation, de-familiarisation, and alienation. This weltschmerz and the strong pathos of the music were a means to purify the soul in an Aristotelian sense, namely through catharsis.'Anatolian rock', on the other hand, focussed much more on a western and psychedelic interpretation of traditional folk songs. With regard to their lyrics, however, a distinct and important characteristic of both genres is their approach to, and metaphorical reading of nature. Deceptive ways ('yollar'), rich rivers, or exalted mountains ('daglar') can be read as individual, as well as political burdens or blessings. At times they might stand between the struggling individual and his longing for the loved ones, but at other times they might even connect them through natural or cultural topographies. Especially the mountains can be read as romanticised hubs and hiding places for rebels and freedom fighters, but also as political obstacles that had to be overcome. Therefore, the sociological status quo did not only have an effect on the music, but with its political content and criticism the music has also influenced the self-awareness of the working classes in return as they started to unify and demand for more rights. This has led to a governmental boycott and censoring of the music and even to the imprisonment of numerous musicians, who fled the country after their discharge. Later in the eighties, however, the same government supported the media in commercialising the music it had once banned as anti-constitutional. But these songs were not more than mass produced, cheesy and shallow fabrications that exploited emotions of pain, suffering, and the fear of loss.

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