The Secret Legends of Anatolian Rock

We all spent a period of our lives with Cem Karaca and Barış Manço, and while for some this period was childhood, for others it was maturity, but one way or another, there was a time of Anatolian Rock in our lives. Between those years of the 60s and 90s, there are some groups that remained a bit on the sidelines, and whose songs, although not widely known, became popular and reached today. Here are 3 lesser-known Anatolian Rock bands that have produced many quality works in this article…

3 Hürel

The group, formed by three brothers named Onur, Feridun, and Haldun, is not much remembered today, but their songs are still sung. The group, which started making music with an accordion that came into their home during their high school years, paused their music intermittently as the brothers came of military age one after another, but they reunited and released two more albums before withdrawing from music. However, some of their songs have never been forgotten over the years. For example, the first creators of the song “Sevenler Ağlarmış,” which today's youth mostly knows from Haluk Levent, are the brothers Onur, Feridun, and Haldun.

Hardal

Initially compared to Erkin Koray, who later became curious and watched them perform live, and finally collaborated with Erkin Koray, this group was the first to fully implement Western Rock in Anatolia at that time. It emerged especially towards the end of the 1970s, a period when Arabesque was more widely listened to and Rock and Pop were falling behind. The group, which did not undertake very intensive work in its early days, later released an album titled “Nasıl? Ne zaman?” (How? When?). This highly acclaimed album made the band known in the music market, but then, with the military coup in the 80s, the music market deteriorated further. Despite the group continuing to release albums (Nereden, Nereye! - Where From, Where To!) and perform concerts due to financial reasons, they eventually entered a period of dissolution. Although there were periods of reunion, the group completely disbanded with the death of Sedat Avcı, but they left behind legendary songs. If you want to listen, we recommend “Gece Vakti” (Night Time) and “Leyla.”

Feylesoflar

This legendary band, one of the pioneers of the Hard Rock genre in Turkey, was founded in 1972 by Can Bastak and Atilla Günhan. In their early days, the group started by performing in cafes and cinemas in Levent. Describing those times as,