Anatolian rock (Turkish: Anadolu Rock) is a fusion of Turkish folk and rock music. It emerged during the mid-1960s, soon after rock groups such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Status Quo and Omega became popular in Turkey. Examples of this style include Turkish musicians such as Cem Karaca, Barış Manço, Erkin Koray, Fikret Kızılok and Murat Ses alongside bands such as Moğollar, Kurtalan Ekspres, Mavi Işıklar, Apaşlar and Kardaşlar. Today, Anatolian rock is a general term used to describe music derived from both traditional Turkish folk music and rock.
The Turkish Rock movement is believed to have begun in the 1950s with the arrival of The Shadows and developed further during the next decade with the increasing popularity of Western music acts. Along with the introduction of these bands, Turkish society began to undergo significant cultural changes, including the growth of multi-party democracy in the region.[1] These simultaneous developments aided the growth, development, and increasing popularity of Anatolian rock.
From 1966 to about 1975, psychedelic rock became extremely popular in Turkey, notably the work of guitarist Erkin Koray. More progressive-styled bands garnered popularity, with older performers like Cem Karaca (Safinaz, 1978) and Moğollar (Düm-tek) moving towards a progressive Anatolian rock style.
