At a glance
- From: Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Released: 20 February 2026, on the label Glitterbeat
- Length: 10 songs, about 45 minutes
- Language: Turkish
- For fans of: Khruangbin, Tame Impala, Pink Floyd
When Erdinç Eçevit was a child, his grandfather played cassettes of Neşet Ertaş. He loved the melodies long before he understood the words. Both of his parents come from the same region of Turkey as Ertaş. Today Eçevit sings and plays in Altın Gün, and for him Garip is a very personal album.
Altın Gün (the name means “golden day” in Turkish) is a band from Amsterdam. It plays Turkish folk songs in a psychedelic rock style, with electric guitars, synthesisers and a strong groove. The bass player Jasper Verhulst founded it in 2016. Garip is its sixth album, and all ten songs were written by one man: Neşet Ertaş (1938 to 2012), a singer and player of the bağlama, a Turkish string instrument. He recorded more than thirty albums and wrote hundreds of songs, some of them made famous by the Turkish stars Barış Manço and Selda Bağcan.
The band says this is its most varied record, with less of the obvious psychedelic rock of before. The sound is looser and less “in your face”, with bursts of saxophone and string arrangements by the Stockholm Studio Orchestra. The strings take ideas from Egyptian pop, Bollywood film music and Turkish Arabesque music.
There is one change you will notice. Garip is the first Altın Gün album without the singer Merve Daşdemir. The review in The Firenote gave it 3.5 out of 5. It said that her voice is missed and that the album feels like a step towards new ideas. Even so, it is a good way to meet Neşet Ertaş.
If you like this, try these from Europe
- Gaye Su Akyol 🇹🇷: a Turkish singer who mixes Anatolian pop, psychedelia and rock. She is on the same label, Glitterbeat.
- DakhaBrakha 🇺🇦: a Ukrainian band of four musicians who turn folk music into what they call “ethno chaos”.
- Jungle by Night 🇳🇱: a big band from Amsterdam that plays Afrobeat and Ethiopian jazz with the energy of a rock band.
Where to find it in Europe
- Buy it: on the Glitterbeat shop, the LP costs €23 and the CD €14.75. Independent record shops in several European countries also sell it.
- Stream it: on Qobuz and Deezer, two French services.
- More about the band: the Glitterbeat page lists their albums and news.
The European context
Altın Gün shows how European music can speak more than one language. The band is based in Amsterdam, its singer’s parents come from Turkey, and it sings in Turkish. Its tribute to Neşet Ertaş began with a grandfather’s cassettes.
Listen to “Neredesin Sen”: https://youtu.be/r4wRKKf1Ze0
Also on Choosing Europe
- Music: People of the Moon · Nu Genea 🇮🇹: another band that takes old sounds from the Mediterranean and gives them a new groove.
- Music: Samen Tegen Elkaar · Goldband 🇳🇱: another act from the Netherlands, singing in Dutch.
