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GEVENDE

Eclectic Prog • Turkey


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Gevende biography
Formed in Esquiceir, Turkey in 2000

Gevende is a band from the recently evolving music scene of Turkey.

On stage Gevende makes a music which has no boundaries. They build up a context, start ?playing? around it and end up with an inconceivable performance constructed with simple musical elements. It is hard to insert such a musical approach into a musical genre but ?folk rock? or ?psychedelic folk? would be convenient to define their music.

Gevende?s musical taste consists of collected pieces from every place they go, all the music they listen to, every culture they touched and make a fusion which can be loved by the people of all lands. In September 2006 they hit the road for a musical journey which influenced their music and affected their lives forever. They took a route through Iran, Pakistan, India, to Nepal where they shared their music with local artists and experienced a musical interaction with those lands which was a lifetime experience for sure.

In their songs, Gevende uses a language which belongs to nowhere. It is an imaginary mixture or phonetic imitation of the world languages so that everyone could find a word or a sound of his/her own. ?The spontaneous tongue of world? we call it.

Since their formation in 2000, the band has performed at several prestigious festivals around the world, has been awarded for their works many times. The interest of their music is growing rapidly. Followed by international musicians, Gevende has projects with acclaimed bass clarinet player Tobias Klein and French guitar player Damien Cluzel. In 2008, the band has started another project with Paris based ?soundpainting? band called Balbazar, on the improvisation of large number of musicians on stage. (Adapted from the band's Myspace)

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GEVENDE discography


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GEVENDE top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.67 | 23 ratings
EV
2006
4.24 | 82 ratings
Sen Balık Değilsin Ki
2011
3.73 | 24 ratings
Kirinardi
2017

GEVENDE Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

GEVENDE Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

GEVENDE Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

GEVENDE Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

GEVENDE Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Sen Balık Değilsin Ki by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2011
4.24 | 82 ratings

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Sen Balık Değilsin Ki
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by Argentinfonico

4 stars This album is fantastic in its own way. It begins in such a sweet way and little by little it clarifies what is the panorama where all the music happens passionately. The use of the trumpet is absolutely magnificent: it moves from symphonic rock to jazz/funk, striking the outstanding notes and giving the songs a unique and indigenous sound. I don't know much about Turkey prog but surely this must be one of the best. In my opinion, the rise of the album is the original "Akvaryum". This song has one of the coolest and most accurate endings I've ever heard. It seems that the song was made to reach the end once and for all and release a perfect multi-instrumentation. I feel like something is missing to get the 5 stars ... The album sometimes has somewhat tedious passages, with common chords progressions that detract a bit of quality. Anyway, this is a great piece.
 Kirinardi by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.73 | 24 ratings

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Kirinardi
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by Sagichim
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars I've been waiting for a long time to Gevende to finally release their third album. After the previous phenomenal Sen Balik Deglisin Ki which I consider to be one of the best and my most special albums in my collection, I was wondering how would they follow that album and will they keep the same high quality. Well first of all they didn't, but listening to the album I'm not sure they were going for the same ambitious kind of songwriting. The songs this time are shorter and bear a much simpler approach, although not straight forward in any way, it doesn't require your full attention to fully understand the album.

Gevende's beautiful and lush trademark sound is still intact, the instrumentation on top of the basic instruments include trumpet, violin, viola, saxophone, flugelhorn and synths, so all compositions as always sound rich and lovely. The music is less rocky this time, guitars stay in the backround for the most part and just add to the rich sound. The compositions are more in a song format rather than a development of ideas, this is of course not a bad thing it just brings the overall feeling that this effort is less progressive. The progressive element remains in the boundaries of the songs and is usually reflected by various instruments and their beautiful, diverse and rich sound.

Gevende's strength as always lies in the song atmosphere, the band has become masters of creating those captivating and dreamy soundscapes, I love how they easily mix their ethnic influences with some smooth cool jazz, mostly done with the most beautiful trumpet sounds you'll ever hear, another strong side of the band is the vocals which are always pleasant sung in their native tongue and also what I believe to be Kurdish. There are two instrumentals here which makes the album to sound a bit more progressive Tophanede Güneşli Günler and Saroyan. What ends the album are a couple of more upbeat or should I say rocky compositions, strangely placed right at the end, until that part the album is quite pastoral. Especially check out the closing track Vertigo which sounds the most progressive tune out of the album and is mostly instrumental, too bad it's too short.

So overall this is with no doubt a good album, the material is good but I'm definitely not blown away by anything. This is a good album to close your eyes and relax to, like having someone gently caressing your face or giving you a foot massage. Don't expect anything daring, demanding or out of the box like in their previous album, but if you're already a fan of the band this could be another good addition to your collection just know what you're getting. 3 stars.

 Kirinardi by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.73 | 24 ratings

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Kirinardi
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars Turkey has never been a nation that comes to mind when thinking of more progressive styles of music especially in a rock context but there have been a few acts that have created interestingly progressive music since all the way back in the 70s including Barış Man'on, Moğollar as well as Cem Karaca & Dervişan. While technically classified as progressive rock, these early bands adapted the local flavors of Anatolian rock which infuses the elements of Turkish folk music along with psychedelic tones and textures. However in the 21st century more and more bands have forsaken the ethnic sounds in favor of joining the greater world of prog. Nemrud has become one of Turkey's most recognized psychedelic space rock bands and Replikas has crafted a unique hybrid of Anatolian rock with German flavored Krautrock. 
GEVENDE has become one of Turkey's top prog bands since its formation in the year 2000. Having taken its name from a Kurdish musical instrument, this band started out as one of the many fusionist bands that blended the Anatolian flavors with the compositional heft of progressive rock but over time has steadily decreased the local flavors and adopted a more worldly approach. After the band released its debut 'Ev' in 2006, the band toured extensively through the silk road destinations of Iran, Pakistan, India and even Nepal to give various concerts and then quickly followed up with a European tour. With all that exposure to different cultures GEVENDE found its distinctly Turkish sounds of its early years giving way to a more diverse palette.

'Kırınardı' is the band's four album (if you count the 2014 original soundtrack 'Monochroma') and still features the same lineup of Ahmet Kenan Bilgi' (guitar, vocals), 'mer 'zt'yen (viola), Can 'mer Uygan (trumpet), Okan Kaya (bass, lute, cumbus) and G'k'e G'r'ay (drums) since the band's inception which is a miracle in its own right. GEVENDE's sound has evolved quite a bit since its debut which engaged in a unique blend of Anatolian rock, psychedelic folk and avant-prog with the following 'Sen Balık Değilsin ki' got more wild with heavier doses of prog rock and avant-garde jazz as well as moments of post-rock. 'Kırınardı' tamps down the jazzy elements and produces a more dreamy progressive folk styled album with only the final tracks 'Domino' and 'Vertigo' offering some more upbeat rockers.

Despite its international recognition, GEVENDE has remained a Turkish band and has experienced all the turbulence of recent years. This album came out in 2017 and reflects the detached escapist tendencies in full fusion form. According to guitarist / vocalist Ahmet K. Bilgi', the album was crafted to create a space for hope amongst incessant worries about daily survival. 'Omeias' begins with some ethnic flavors but the album quickly becomes a more contemplative mix of atmospheric synthesizers and proggy grooves and rhythms reminding me somewhat of a more ethnic version of Porcupine Tree especially around the 'Lightbulb Sun' timeline as the production is impeccable and the space rock effects are in full gear but much of the album is on the folkier side with light fluffy melodies enveloped by acoustic passages and intricately designed interpolations of percussive drive. While not as jazzy as the uptempo albums of the past, the trumpet offers a smooth jazz pastiche to the mix.

In addition to the five main players there are also guest musicians that provide saxophone sounds, violin, viola and cello so this album has much more of a chamber rock feel than previous albums. While every song is excellent the album does feel a little disjointed in that the first seven tracks are sung in the Turkish language and are more ethereal and contemplative while the final two tracks 'Domino' and 'Vertigo' are much more energetic, return the ethnic flavors accompanied by hefty rock guitar grooves and are sung in English (i think!) Overall this is a great album although a little puzzling why it is bookended with such different sounds. Probably could've had the tracks placed better but not a real biggie as GEVENDE are talented musicians that deliver some excessively atmospheric awesomeness.

 Kirinardi by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.73 | 24 ratings

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Kirinardi
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars GEVENDE and SIDDHARTHA are my two favourite bands out of Turkey. GEVENDE's previous album "Sen Balik Degilsin Ki" is a top ten record for me for 2011 while SIDDHARTHA's 1998 psychedelic beauty is a top ten for me for that year. As on their two previous albums GEVENDE once again features trumpet and viola but this time around we have guests adding sax, violin, viola, violincello plus the trumpet player of GEVENDE also plays flugelhorn now. In other words we get what sounds like orchestral music to my ears. The multi strings and horns are normally something I'm not into but it works here. I like the singer's voice as it's always familiar sounding in a good way. The music is almost always pleasant and while I consider how I'm describing the music I'm realizing this isn't music I'd normally be into but I'm so into this album. It's fairly straightforward as well as I liked it from the first spin while their debut took me many listens before I finally grasped the sound.

"Omelas" opens with these intricate sounds that come and go. Drums kick in before a minute and dominate the sound but soon it's fuller and vocals arrive around 1 1/2 minutes. Catchy stuff that becomes impressive instrumentally before 3 minutes as the vocals step aside until they return at 3 1/2 minutes. Not a bad opener, quite pleasant. "Tophane'de Gunesli Gunier" has relaxed horns and not much else to start but then synths take over after a minute then intricate guitar with bass. It turns orchestral with strings and horns. It does turn more powerful before 5 minutes as the horns and strings continue.

"Sossiz Gibi Bir Yea" is uptempo and drum led with vocals. Horns, guitar, strings and more help out. Again pleasant is the word. A calm before 4 minutes with piano before it starts to build but then smooth horns end it. "Kirinardi" is one of my favourites on here for the emotion I feel when listening to it. Picked guitar as the vocals join in. Love the sound here. Violin and horns after 1 1/2 minutes as the vocals step aside. They return after 2 minutes. "Saroyan" is uptempo with drums and horns leading the way. Soon smooth horns take the lead. Nice.

"Aglaya Aglaya" has this beautifully picked guitar with bass as strings and vocals join in. Gorgeous sound to this one and the atmosphere helps. Sax before 3 1/2 minutes as the picked guitar and bass continue. Great song! "Ters Okyanus" is different as we get some tension with the forced drumming, atmosphere and other sounds that come and go until it all kicks in beautifully just before a minute. Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in and horns follow. Guitar to the fore after 3 1/2 minutes as the vocals step aside. Love how it builds almost to the end.

"Domino"opens with picked guitar? and then we're hit with a full sound that is quite powerful and catchy. Vocals a minute in and they sound treated. Nice driving rhythm here and we get synths as well before 2 1/2 minutes. Then it's the guitar standing out. "Vertigo" opens with drums and there's some depth to the sound here as the tempo picks up. This is surprisingly heavy then the horns kick in. Growly guitar replaces the horns but then the horns are back 2 minutes in. Then these theatrical spoken vocals arrive. Interesting stuff.

The music has changes from album to album but this is such a talented band. The music here is a bit of a paradox for me but I like it anyways. Wait a minute...

 Kirinardi by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.73 | 24 ratings

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Kirinardi
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by Chalcobalt

4 stars Very pleasant, at times really beautiful and moderately progressive rock with a few jazz influences. I appreciate the driving bass rhythm, melodic keyboard lines, quite a lot of violin and trumpets, and that the guitars stay in the background where the acoustic is not plucking the pace. However, the electric guitar dominates the two final tracks which are more fast paced and heavier, heading towards but not all the way to psychedelia. Despite that most of the songs are exquisitely balanced in terms of content, pace and length, I find the duration of the songs (3-6 mins) a bit short on occasions. At least some of the most soothing songs could have benefited even more of being dragged out. The prominent drum section that often stands at the center of attention must also be given some mentions of honour. The few non-instrumental songs contain Turkish lyrics, for me definitely preferred over accented English. All in all, a relaxing but still interesting, varied and enjoying album.
 Sen Balık Değilsin Ki by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2011
4.24 | 82 ratings

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Sen Balık Değilsin Ki
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Turkish jazz-rock with folk twists and a pulsating progressive rock rhythm section? Don't mind if I do! Serkan Emre Çiftçi deserves particular praise on this one for the trumpet performances, which really transform the compositions whenever Serkan is unleashed, whilst Ahmet Kenan Bilgiç's lead vocals and guitar performances find him playing two distinct roles; with the guitar, he adds a gentle note to proceedings, whilst his vocals are based around traditional scales and ring forth with pride and clarity. With the swirling mixture of psychedelic and jazz influences, Gevende end up sounding like an act who could proudly share a stage with the likes of early Soft Machine.
 Sen Balık Değilsin Ki by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2011
4.24 | 82 ratings

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Sen Balık Değilsin Ki
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by Aldebaran_Well

5 stars The albums we really love usually contain either new and previously unimagined musical expressions or perfectly executed music that we are already familiar with. But sometimes, very rarely for me, it happens to come across a band that plays music exactly in the way we hoped or dreamt to. I remember that I felt this way 20 years ago when I first listened to the Tea Party. Now Gevende offers me the same awkward feeling.

As many music lovers know, Turkey has a great music scene and I dare to say that Gevende is probably the best Turkish band I've ever heard. They were formed back in 2000, they travelled a lot in the east and they released their debut ''Ev'' in 2006. That album was deeply influenced by their journeys and leaned on the ethnic side of their sound. This second album was released 5 years later and it is instantly realized that Gevende has progressed and matured in every possible way. One thing remains the same: their music still carries the scent of distant journeys, of earth and sea, of the desert, of strange cities, of ports and caravans!

Though their sound is truly solid, it is not easy to describe their style. The final result stands somewhere between psychedelic rock and fusion, but many progressive and ethnic/folk influences are also present. Due to the fact that their compositions focus more on the melodies rather than technical complexity, many slow tempo parts seem to have a distant relation with trip hop and post music, I mean in aesthetics and not in sound. Their compositions though are so perfectly worked in every detail that a unique artistic construction is being created, with all the different materials unable to be separated from one another.

The viola (Omer Oztuyen, he plays some mandolin too) and especially the trumpet (Serkan Emre Ciftci) play the major part in Gevende's music, performing the vast majority of leads and solos. For instance, if you could remove the brass section in the opening track ''Vigeland'', you'd have a prog rock anthem, powerful, technical and intense. Instead, we get a much more colourful result. For me, the absolute star of the album is the bass of Mr. Okan Kaya. Many compositions seem to have been built upon his incredible melodies and grooves, excellent work really, supported by the amazing and wise drumming of Gokce Kurcay. Ahmet Kenan Bilgic has a double role in Gevende: his guitar is gentle and soft, mostly enriching harmonically the music (only one guitar solo, in ''Sanki''!). His vocal contribution is amazing though and mainly responsible for the oriental element of their music. As a Greek, I understand many of the traditional scales that he uses and I tell you, this guy's doing a tremendous job.

From beginning to end, the orchestration and performing of the album is truly the work of masters. All songs range from 5.5 to 9 minutes, so the band in every track unravels a wide range of ideas and virtues. Gevende seem to compose based on long jams and improvisations and you can feel this in the way the music flows. Often a song evolves in a much unexpected way; do not make the mistake of not hearing each one in its entirety. Some of the best and most epic parts hide in the final minutes or seconds of a song (for example, tracks 2, 3, 6, 8). Besides the first track ''Vigeland'', which as I mentioned is almost straight prog and ''Beboyi Yerki'', a hypnotizing tune of almost a religious nature, the rest of the material can be divided in two categories: the tracks that sound a bit more fusion/folk (''Igloo'', ''Kabidostan'', ''Sanki'') and the ones that tend to be more psychedelic (''Esinti'', ''Akvaryum'', ''Sustum''). Of course, each one has a strong personality and hides its own, unique surprises. You will discover dramatic violin leads (2, 3), strange ebows (4), even human whistles (5) and you can never be sure about what lies in the next turn. No matter what happens though, the music never lacks its sensitivity, its great structures and melodies, its jazzy touch and its freshness.

I'd like to especially comment on two tracks. ''Akvaryum'' is an absolute wonder. It begins with a film noir-like jazz trumpet and progresses so melodically and softly that it almost sounds fragile (constantly demanding your full inner participation), slowly building a climax towards an amazing end: a simple but magnificent end which is fully capable of bringing the listener to tears. ''Sustum'' on the other hand is the song that introduced me to Gevende. Saw it on Youtube by chance and I listened to it ten times, unable to believe my ears. Now, countless listenings after that, I still believe that this composition is absolutely perfect in every note, a piece of sheer perfection, personality and ultimate quality. As far as I'm concerned, this has to be one of my 2-3 favourite songs of the current decade so far. The perfect ending of an album that should be considered as something very close to a masterpiece, as long as you are not one of those who believe that masterpieces are being released only by super famous bands/artists.

Fully aware that this review may seem a bit subjective, I highly recommend this to any real friend of good innovative music. For me, Gevende is one of the most fascinating bands globally, sensational music produced by real musicians/creators/people. And if they are able to maintain this level of inspiration, then wide artistic reputation will be inevitable if there is justice in the world of music. This is definitely a masterpiece of borderless art. 93/100 in my rating system.

5 universal stars

 Sen Balık Değilsin Ki by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2011
4.24 | 82 ratings

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Sen Balık Değilsin Ki
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by Sanki

5 stars I just became a forum member to write a review for this album. I have been visiting progarchives for years;I have been tempted to submit ratings and write reviews before but it took this album to finally get me to act. This should indicate how strongly I feel about it. This album is absolutely creative, unique, emotional and universal. The band was formed in Turkey and the members are all Turkish but it is difficult to find any distinct Turkish "flavor" in the music (not that anything is particularly wrong with that; I have been enjoying their first album, which had more of that flavor, for years). Having said all of this, we all have different tastes, we seek different sounds; so, I am sure not everyone will like this album but I recommend it as strongly as possible to those who enjoy good melodies, compositions and a wonderful use of brass and string instruments along with traditional rock structures. Call it eclectic if you like but I don't like those classifications that much, it is just excellent music, pushing boundaries, trying new things that will move you and take you places.
 EV by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2006
3.67 | 23 ratings

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EV
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars A Turkish band coming from Eskisehir, found in 2000 with the driving forces being guitarist/singer Ahmet Kenan Bilgic, viola player Ömer Öztüyen, bassist Okan Kaya, drummer Gökce Gürcay and trumpetist Serkan Emre Ciftci.The first years Gevende focused on developing a Balkan-oriented sound and performing live.It was the establishment of the Baykus music label in 2005, that gave them the opportunity to record their debut ''Ev'', released in 2006.

''Ev'' sees the group playing an upfront mix of Psychedelic Rock and Folk Rock, creating pleasant and cheerful atmospheres, led by the enjoyable grooves of the rhythm section and the heavy use of brass instruments and viola.The performaces are nice with a pretty abstract mood and extended solo parts by the users of traditional instruments.The music is mostly highly energetic and passionate with the weird Turkish language supporting the arrangements, even perfectly suitable for a party atmosphere.Around the middle the album offers a different and more emotional mood with laid-back, refined and more progressive compositions, influenced by traditional Turkish Music, arranged with a somewhat Classial feeling.Viola, flutes and mellow psychedelic guitars lead the way, while Bilgic'es voice has an evident melancholic color.''Sermest'' is propably the most complex track of the album, here the band delivers a really adventurous Folk/Fusion style with tons of interplays and sudden breaks.''Ev'' offers also lots of mellow acoustic moments with a nostalgic touch and generally the album has a nice flexibilty regarding its emotional content.

Nice and recommended debut, full of passionate, elaborate or groovy compositions.Gevende are definitely a band to keep an eye on.

 Sen Balık Değilsin Ki by GEVENDE album cover Studio Album, 2011
4.24 | 82 ratings

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Sen Balık Değilsin Ki
Gevende Eclectic Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

5 stars I thought their debut was a solid 4 stars but it took a while to grow to that for me. I knew this second album was special after one listen, in fact it's on a whole other level when compared to the debut. It's in the same style with the trumpet and violin taking prominant roles but for my tastes the music is much better. For my final listen for this review I went through this song after song waiting for that high level to drop off but it never did. An incredible release !

"Vigeland" opens with bass and drums and I love that intro. Violin comes in screaming. How good is this ! It settles back before 2 minutes. So good as we get a powerful atmosphere with drums. Trumpet 3 minutes in then vocals for the first time after 4 1/2 minutes. "Esinti" has this relaxed beat as the guitar then violin joins in. Reserved vocals follow. Chunky bass too. Trumpet 2 1/2 minutes in as the vocals stop. Incredible sound 4 minutes in. A calm follows then the vocals return. Violin replaces the vocals and it's dissonant at times. Killer stuff. "Akvaryum" has relaxed trumpet to open then reserved vocals before 2 minutes as the trumpet stops. Deep guitar notes then violin before the trumpet returns. Amazing tune. "Igloo" has picked guitar as reserved vocals join in. Percussion and trumpet too as it builds. It does settle back. Such a great sound here. Violin before 4 1/2 minutes.

Love the dissonance in "Kadibostan" along with the outbursts of sound. It kicks in around a minute and vocals follow. This is catchy and entertaining. Love the vocals 3 minutes in. Intense violin before 4 minutes. It kicks in. Hell yeah ! A calm follows with trumpet then it builds. "Sanki" opens with picked something as clapping joins in. Vocals before a minute. A full sound follows as contrasts continue. The guitar 4 1/2 minutes in lights it up. "Beboyi Yerki" opens with heavy and deep sounds with atmosphere. Vocals a minute in. Killer sound. Fantastic track ! "Sustum" opens with bass as a beat joins in. Smooth vocals follow. Guitar too. It picks up with trumpet. Great sound late.

An absolute pleasure from beginning to end. Thanks Todd !

Thanks to epignosis for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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