Umut Adan & Zebânis – ‘Başka Bahar’ album review: Defiance rendered in Anatolian psych rock electronica
Only three months in 2026 and the year is already proving to be particularly productive for the realm of Anatolian psychedelic rock, with new records by the likes of Altın Gün breathing new life into the retro-style landscape. Now, Turkey’s premier voice in contemporary psychedelia, Umut Adan, has added fuel to that fire with his latest offering, Başka Bahar.
The Skinny: Genre categories are famously restrictive, and even the mind-expanding realm of Anatolian psych rock doesn’t seem to capture every intricacy present in Başka Bahar. While inarguably rooted in that timeless rock rebellion carved out by the likes of Barış Manço all those decades ago, the record imbues that spirit with a more contemporary approach.
On more experimental offerings like the transitional ‘Istiklal Noise Interference’, for instance, Adan and his band, Zebânis, explore electronica, folk, and punk rock within the same breath. That punk spirit, in particular, comes through across the entirety of the album, and that perhaps shouldn’t be surprising given that the album’s primary motivation is resistance and rebellion. The record’s arguable stand-out moment, ‘Bogotà’, in fact, is a masterful protest song pushing back against the global hierarchy.
Those moments of protest feel all the more important in the wake of incredibly recent world events, which Adan, no matter how visionary an artist he is, certainly could not have predicted. That does, however, speak to the universal power of his output; even if you have no roots in the world of Turkish folk or speak a different language, that doesn’t make this album any less impactful.
Its overarching narrative is also helped along by the fact that Adan, along with Zebânis’ multi-instrumentalist master Andrea Marazzi, carried out the production work of the album themselves, making it an incredibly cohesive, crafted piece of work, even during the moments when it switches from polished psychedelia to its more lo-fi, raw moments – such as the track ‘Pro War’.
Although Adan himself is clearly the driving force behind the core of the album, it is the instrumental additions of Zebânis that properly complete that artistic vision, and Marazzi’s contributions in particular form some of the record’s ultimate highlights.
The Verdict: Başka Bahar is a masterful example of just how sonically diverse and up-to-date the realm of Anatolian psychedelia can be. Those enduring 1960s-styled psych moments remain, but its experimental and electronic influences consistently shine through the protest-fueled tracklisting.
Standout Track: ‘Bogotà’
Release Date: March 6th, 2026 | Producer: Umut Adan and Andrea Marazzi: | Label: Six Degrees
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