Baba Zula

On 22 October 2026 Baba Zula will perform at Patronaat in Haarlem. Since the mid-1990s, the Istanbul collective has been forging its own form of Anatolian psychedelia, where traditional Turkish sounds collide with dub, experimental rock and electronics. Founded by Murat Ertel and Levent Akman after their venture with Zen, Baba Zula operates as an open core that regularly brings guest musicians along. The result moves between free improvisation and tightly constructed compositions, without fixed boundaries.

Their first international attention came with the soundtrack to Tabutta Rövaşata (1996), followed by studio albums such as Duble Oryantal (2005), Gecekondu (2010), 34 Oto Sanayi (2014) and Derin Derin (2019). On stage the group favors long forms, trance-like grooves and saz lines that lock onto pulsating rhythms and delay-soaked textures. That approach places them just as comfortably in independent rock venues as on festivals of world and club cultures.

Collaborations with Alexander Hacke and Mad Professor, and their appearance in Fatih Akin’s documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul, underscore a trajectory at the crossroads of Turkish, European and diasporic scenes. In Haarlem, Baba Zula presents a set in which Anatolian motifs, deep bass and electronics come together organically, with room for twists and extended jams.