It has been a long time since I posted a mix. One reason was that the stuff I compiled for our private parties were all too long to upload on the web. The other was the lack of inspiration. A getaway outside the city last weekend must have finally broken the spell. It was an unexpected farewell to summer and a perfect embrace of the fall. Gordo is a snappy teaser warming up the cold weather ahead. I assure you more is on the way (especially with the ski season right around the corner).

Download Gordo – The Shisko Sevgili here

On the 2nd year anniversary of “I am back in Istanbul and it sucks big time that I can no longer watch the Victoria’s Secret Show live on CBS” this is what they came up with. Victoria’a Secret angels lip sync “Moves like Jagger” by Maroon 5.

Check out if Mini and Kane will be coming your way anytime soon and listen to this visionary guitarist before he starts getting stadiums for venues instead of local concert halls.

The undeniable creator of “mucks”, the genius behind the groovy daring love songs was gone for too long. I must have been in my early teens the last time I saw him live on stage. It was last night he came back to greet the Istanbul crowd once again at the Harbiye Theatre. Fully packed, fully anxious we waited for the first boom, hoping desperately it wouldn’t be a slow song taken from the ancient Turkish Melodies (another genre Tarkan is undeniably good at). We were prepped to leave during the intermission if there was no “şıkıdım” in the air. Our prayers must have been heard as Tarkan started the night with “Gül döktüm yollarına”, a hit song from one of his older albums and never let go of the dance beats and the same long due energy: his friendly gestures, his humble attitude on top of his incredible success.

Yes the stage could have been better decorated. Yes it would be good to have some cooler audio entertainment. Yes it would be great to see 10 more belly dancers instead of the one amazing who swept us off our feet. Despite all the “coulds” Tarkan managed to pull hundreds of tough-to-please Turks off their chairs and made us dance to his legendary lyrics. That is why last night, he reminded me again why he is our superstar. Do not miss his Istanbul concerts if you can get tickets. The show goes on until Monday, September 12th.

Once played, this visually disappointing stick has the power to suck out all the energy stored in one’s body, condense it into a grey cloud and spit it out into the face. You will not remember what you have been eating, talking or contemplating about. You will see faces and mouths move but you will not be able to sum up the conversation. Ney’s breath will put you in a dormant phase and freeze all your senses with a constant scratching sound at the back of your head. And the worst part is that its presence will not be evident enough to force you to remove it from your system. It will work like the Pied Piper of Hamelin (Fareli Köyün Kavalcısı). You will follow it like those musically drugged rats until you will find the strength to push your chair out, run into the car and use the last bit of hope to turn on the radio.

Dear restauranteurs, hoteliers and other dinner hosts celebrating Ramadan, I hate to break it to you but Ney has been outdated centuries ago. It has been used and abused in every corner of the Ottoman Empire because there was nothing better and the sultans like it. We are now in the era of lounge, chill-out and spiritual music. Modern musicians work day and night to grab our attention and sell their instrumental genius. They have been all around India, Africa, China, Thailand, Japan, Korea. They have been up the mountains and down the rivers to extract the music that fuels meditation and enhances senses. So I beg you to reconsider Ney at next year’s Ramadan. If necessary I can be of great assistance in your quest to find appropriate melodies for the spiritual crowd. Yet, I am afraid I will be attending all the future convocations with my iPod unless we can find a solution to the current hypnosis undeniably apparent at the Ramadan tables.

Beware, listen with caution if you dare…

I hope I can make it to one of their future appearances. Until then…