Anatolian rock is a fusion of Turkish folk

Turkish folk music

Turkish folk music combines the distinct cultural values of all civilisations that have lived in Anatolia and the Ottoman territories in Europe and Asia...

 and rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

. It emerged during the mid-1960s, soon after rock groups such as The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

, The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

, Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, Yes

Yes (band)

Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...

, Status Quo and Omega

Omega (band)

Omega is one of the most successful Hungarian rock bands.-Biography:Formed in Budapest in September, 1962 by the winds player László Benkő on organ and János Kóbor as a singer and rhythm guitarist, they initially performed covers of British and American rock songs, frequently changing the lineup of...

 became popular in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. Examples of this style include Turkish musicians such as Cem Karaca

Cem Karaca

Muhtar Cem Karaca , also called Cem Baba , was a prominent Turkish rock musician and one of the most important figures in the Anatolian rock movement.-Biography:...

, Barış Manço

Baris Manço

Barış Manço was a Turkish rock singer, composer, and television producer. He composed about 200 songs, some of which were translated into a variety of languages including English, Japanese, Greek, Italian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Persian, Urdu and Arabic...

, Erkin Koray

Erkin Koray

Erkin Koray , has been in the Turkish rock music scene since the late 1950s or early 1960s. He is widely acclaimed as being the first person to ever play rock and roll in Turkey; in 1957, he and his band gained fame by playing covers of Elvis Presley and Fats Domino...

, Fikret Kızılok

Fikret Kizilok

Fikret Kızılok was a Turkish musician. He was a pioneer of Turkish rock music and an early experimentalist...

 and Murat Ses

Murat Ses

Murat Ses is a Turkish keyboard player and composer with strong Eurasian electronic elements...

 alongside bands such as Moğollar

Mogollar

Moğollar is one of the pioneer bands in Turkish rock music for about 40 years and one of the founders of Turkish folk rock...

, 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

Turkish folk music

Turkish folk music combines the distinct cultural values of all civilisations that have lived in Anatolia and the Ottoman territories in Europe and Asia...

 and rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

.

History and development

The Turkish Rock movement is believed to have begun in the 1950s with the arrival of The Shadows

The Shadows

The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...

 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. These simultaneous developments aided the growth, development, and increasing popularity of Anatolian rock.

From 1966 to about 1975, psychedelic rock

Psychedelic rock

Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...

 became extremely popular in Turkey, notably the work of guitarist Erkin Koray

Erkin Koray

Erkin Koray , has been in the Turkish rock music scene since the late 1950s or early 1960s. He is widely acclaimed as being the first person to ever play rock and roll in Turkey; in 1957, he and his band gained fame by playing covers of Elvis Presley and Fats Domino...

. More progressive

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

-styled bands garnered popularity, with older performers like Cem Karaca

Cem Karaca

Muhtar Cem Karaca , also called Cem Baba , was a prominent Turkish rock musician and one of the most important figures in the Anatolian rock movement.-Biography:...

 (Safinaz, 1978) and Moğollar

Mogollar

Moğollar is one of the pioneer bands in Turkish rock music for about 40 years and one of the founders of Turkish folk rock...

 (Düm-tek) moving towards a progressive Anatolian rock style.

Related musicians and bands

As other rock genres gained popularity in Turkey, Anatolian rock also began to diversify. In the last decade, there has been a growth of Turkish rock bands such as Mor ve Ötesi

Mor ve Ötesi

Mor ve Ötesi is a Turkish alternative rock band from Istanbul. Its four current members are Harun Tekin , Kerem Kabadayı , Burak Güven and Kerem Özyeğen . Former members include Alper Tekin and Derin Esmer...

, Gece Yolcuları

Gece Yolculari

Gece Yolcuları is a Turkish soft rock band.They established as a university band in 1993, working as amateurs till 1995, when they started their professional career. At first the main aim of the band was to compose and share their authentic music and to obtain a distinctive style...

, Almora

Almora

Almora is a municipal board, a cantonment town in the Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Almora was founded in 1568.It is a town bustling with activity and a rich cultural heritage and history. It is considered the cultural heart of the Kumaon region of...

, Kurban

Kurban

Kurban is a Turkish rock band formed in 1995. The members are Kerem Tüzün, Burak Gürpınar, Deniz Yılmaz and Özgür Kankaynar....

, Kargo

Kargo

Kargo is a rock band from Istanbul, Turkey. Its current line-up includes Selim Öztürk on electric guitar, Mehmet Şenol Şişli on bass, Burak Karataş on drums and Fergan Mirkelam on vocals.-History:...

, Duman

Duman (band)

Duman is a Turkish rock band. The band combines elements of traditional Turkish folk music with modern rock and grunge...

, Vega

Vega

Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...

, Çilekeş

Çilekes

Çilekeş is a Turkish rock band active since 2002.-Band history:Çilekeş was founded in 2002 in Ankara...

, Redd

Redd

Redd is a Turkish rock band established in 1996 by tenor opera singer Doğan Duru and guitarist Berke Hatipoğlu under the name Ten. They used to play at bars until they set up their own studio in 2004. Their first album, entitled "50/50", produced by Levent Büyük was published a year later by...

, Makine, Gripin

Gripin

Gripin is a rock band based in Istanbul, Turkey. Also Gripin is a medicine name for flu. The members are Birol , Murat , Evren , Ilker and Arda .- The beginning :...

 and maNga, the latter having won the "Best Rock Band" award in almost all polls in 2005. The influences acting upon these bands fall into a wide range of genres, from the Seattle Sound to heavy

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 or doom metal

Doom metal

Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

 and rapcore

Rapcore

Rapcore is a subgenre of rap rock fusing vocal and sometimes instrumental elements of hip hop with punk rock .-History:...

. Hence, Anatolian rock refers to a fusion of a wide selection of western rock sub genres with either a traditional Turkish sound or even rock music with Turkish lyrics. Such cultural fusion led the way for rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 to develop in Turkey.

There are also individual rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 performers who have gained success such as Haluk Levent, Şebnem Ferah

Sebnem Ferah

Şebnem Ferah is a Turkish singer and song-writer. She was the head vocalist of the all-female hard rock band Volvox until 1994, after which she went on to pursue an illustrious solo career...

, Gültekin KAAN, Barış Akarsu

Baris Akarsu

Barış Akarsu was a Turkish rock musician and actor who rose to fame after winning the television series Akademi Türkiye in July 2004...

, Ogün Sanlısoy

Ogün Sanlisoy

Ogün Sanlısoy is a Turkish rock musician and a pioneer among Turkish heavy metal vocalists.-Biography:Born in Gölcük, Turkey in 1971. Graduated from Mimar Sinan University as an industrial product designer...

, Demir Demirkan

Demir Demirkan

Demir Demirkan is a Turkish musician, Eurovision Song Contest winning composer, formerly guitarist for thrash metal band Mezarkabul. Demir Demirkan started his music life when he was 13 and played guitar with various groups in college...

, Hayko Cepkin

Hayko Cepkin

Hayko Cepkin is a Turkish musician of Armenian ethnicity who is mostly known for the unique music he constructs that ranges from alternative metal to melodic tunes...

, Aslı Gökyokuş

Asli Gökyokus

Aslı Gökyokuş is a Turkish singer.-Early experience with Music:Aslı, who is also known as Aslı Gökyokuş was born on October 26, 1977 in İstanbul. Her work in music began with the band that she helped form during her years at high school, which was called "Phoenix"...

, Nev, Aylin Aslım

Aylin Aslim

Aylin Aslım is a Turkish singer/songwriter.Aylin was born in Lich, Hessen, Germany into a Turkish family but moved back to Turkey when she was only one year old. She sang in several rock and electronica bands in several clubs in Istanbul. Her first album Gelgit -released in 2000 was more of an...

, Emre Aydın

Emre Aydin

Emre Aydın is a Turkish rock singer-songwriter. He has been referred to as emreaydın on his official site to establish a trademark. The singer won the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 in the "Europe's Favourite Act" category. He is also the former lead singer for the Turkish rock band 6...

, Özlem Tekin

Özlem Tekin

Özlem Tekin is a Turkish singer, TV show host and occasional actress, primarily known for her music. Though she started out in the hard rock genre, her music has progressed to incorporate different styles such as house, punk, pop and Turkish folk music.-Life and career:Özlem Tekin was born in...

 and Teoman. By the end of 80s, several metal groups formed in Turkey such as Mezarkabul

Mezarkabul

Mezarkabul is a Turkish metal band formed by Hakan Utangaç and Cenk Ünnü. Mezarkabul is known for integrating Anatolian elements into their music. Mezarkabul means 'accepting the grave', or literally 'grave accept' in Turkish....

 (Pentagram), Diken

Diken

Diken is a town and a nagar panchayat in Neemuch district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.-Demographics: India census, Diken had a population of 7206. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Diken has an average literacy rate of 57%, lower than the national average of 59.5%:...

, Volvox and Dr. Skull.

Large-scale rock festivals (past and current)

• Rock'n Coke
  Rock'n Coke
  Rock'n Coke is a Turkish rock festival sponsored by Coca-Cola. It is traditionally held at the Hezarfen Airfield in Istanbul, Turkey.- Festival :Rock'n Coke is a member of the . The festival is organized by the Turkish concert organizer...
  
  
• Masstival
• Radar Live
• Unirock Open Air Festival
  Unirock Open Air Festival
  Unirock Open Air Festival is one of the summer open air heavy metal music festivals in İstanbul. It takes place annually in İstanbul, Turkey. Total 40,000 attendees at first two years....
  
  
• Rock Station Festival
• Barışarock
  Barisarock
  Barışarock is an annual rock festival organized in Istanbul, Turkey....
  
  
• Sonisphere Festival
  Sonisphere Festival
  The Sonisphere Festival is a touring music festival which takes place across Europe between June and August. The festival is owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It is jointly-promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live...