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| Home > Movies > Crossing the Bridge --- the sound of Istanbul |
| Crossing the Bridge --- the sound of Istanbul | | Date Created: Dec 03, 2005, 01:32 AM |
I just caught a most enthralling music documentary about modern music from Istanbul. Crossing the Bridge is part of the German Film Festival and I did not know much about the movie other than the brief festival synopsis that it highlights some of the most exciting music coming from the Bosphorus.
So I was pleasantly surprised to find that the guide to this musical journey is none other than Alexander Hacke, the bassist for my favorite industrial band, the seminal Einsturzende Neubauten. Hacke had contributed some of the music for Fatih Akin's directorial debut Gegen die Wand (Head-On). During the filming in Istanbul, Hacke fell in love with the music of the city and he now returns with suitcases of microphones, a laptop and a bad haircut to understand the music of the city. Akin obliges by directing the movie.
The journey starts appropriately enough on the Bosphorus where the band Baba Zula perform on the deck of a cutter. Their brand of alternative music melds classical Turkish rhythms with classic Western rock in an intoxicating mixture which gets Hacke so excited he starts playing the bass as well.
Crossing the Bridge really kicks into gear when the music moves back onto land. A thankfully brief detour into an underground bar to hear a decidedly routine rock band is followed by one of the most amazing rap acts I have ever heard. Ceza's motor mouth covers a breathtaking range of topics from American imperialism to growing up in Istanbul in a matter of seconds. His sister is then featured. Apparently, there are very few women Turkish rappers and she does not do much to advance their cause.
Hacke also pays homage to some of the early pioneers of the Istanbul sound. Sporting a moustache reminiscent of a bandit in a bad Hindi movie, Orhan Gencebay shows off some of his musical riffs that inspired an entire generation of Young Turks to incorporate rural saz music into modern pop or rock. The famous crooner Sezen Aksu obliges with a love song while looking like she is about to morph into Tina Turner complete with the peroxide hair. And Erkin Koray is still considered too extreme for the Turkish music scene even 30 years after he first burst onto the scene to what he openly admits was open ridicule.
In a city perched so precariously between Asia and Europe (according to one of the musicians, more than 50 armies have crossed the city), it is inevitable that politics has played a role in the type of music that is sanctioned. The ban on Kurdish songs was only lifted 10 years ago and Kurdish music videos were only allowed several months before Crossing the Bridge was filmed. And it is only a matter of time before Kurdish modern music gets a wider audience if there are standard bearers like the hypnotic Aynur.
After watching Crossing the Bridge, I am sorely tempted to explore Istanbul. Maybe my next trip after this Christmas' trip to Greece.... |
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