The ten tracks on AYSAY’s new album KÖY have a very nice radio-friendly vibe with clarion sound and dynamics. The project follows AYSAY’s 2021 debut entitled Su Akar (“Water Flows”). Meaning “village” in Turkish, KÖY is a celebration of communities and their cohesion through language, family, gender, sexuality or lifestyles. AYSAY is a Danish/Kurdish/Turkish trio led comprised of Luna Bülow Ersahin (baglama, violin, vocals), Aske Døssing Bendixen (drums, percussion, synth bass) and Carl West Hosbond (guitar, bass). For a bigger sound, guest musicians add zurna, sipsi, kaval, ogur sazi, trumpet, bass, synth and guitar to some tracks. Luna’s father came from a small Kurdish village in Corum, Turkey and emigrated to Denmark. The album serves as a tribute to a community that she misses and deeply longs for, and her multi-tracked vocals convey many emotions.

The pieces on KÖY vary from anonymous Kurdish and Turkish folk songs to transcontinental originals with an effervescent Middle Eastern groove. They credit Ozan Demir as their “folk music guru” whose knowledge and musicality has enriched their music and strengthened their roots.  Anatolian folk rock presents a considerable amount of exotic imagery, and I enjoyed the diversity apparent on tracks like “Dam Ütsüne,”“Ninni,” “Sen Kimsin,” “Istanbul,” “Nerelisin,” “Tu Cergo Melaken,” “Daye,” and “KÖY.” The set progresses through Electropop to Ersahin a capella, and thus provides blends of instrumentation, grooves, vocal and natural sounds that create an ethereal ambiance of impressionable visions from flamboyant to minimalistic. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)