The Turkish free-form, free-improv Konstrukt is known for its ongoing collaborations with the most innovative improvisers on this planet – Peter Brötzmann, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Akira Sakata, Marshall Allen, Evan Parker, Alexander Hawkins, Ken Vandermark and Otomo Yoshihide. «Turkish Belly» documents the live meeting of Konstrukt with indie-rock icon, guitarist Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth fame, recorded live at SalonIKSV in Istanbul in February 2020. Konstrukt and Moore performed before at the IST. Festival in Istanbul in July 2016.
The line-up of Konstrukt is the same one that recorded «Kozmik Bazaar» with Vandermark (Karlrecords, 2019) – founders reeds and electronics player and vocalist Korhan Futacı and guitarist and synth player Umut Çağlar with the rhythm section of bassist Apostolos Sideris and drummer Berkan Tilavel. But «Turkish Belly» presents Konstrukt in its most electrified version ever, raw, wild and muscular, fitting perfectly to the boundless and uncompromising energy of Moore.
Konstrukt and Moore don’t spend much time, and after a brief synth introduction, they begin their hard-driving and infectious grind that often brings to mind Sonic Youth in its most wild improvisation. Futacı ornaments this fiery freak-out with gibberish speeches, Sideris and Tilavel keep feeding the fire with powerful grooves, and Moore and Çağlar lead this live performance into massive, distorted and exotic walls of sound. There are few nods to Turkish folk music (especially on «Sis» with Futaci playing folky flute and with Sideris’ bow work on the double bass), but they are instantly propelled into the addictive guitar riffs and the explosive spirit of this performance. Only the last piece «Uğultular» leaves aside these explosive and cathartic undercurrents and suggests a more exotic and sensual dance, a futurist and electrified kind of belly dance that ends in a quiet and seductive electric storm.
Eyal Hareuveni
Korhan Futacı (as, fl, v, loops), Umut Çağlar (el-g, synth), Apostolos Sideris (el-b, b), Berkan Tilavel (dr), Thurston Moore (el-g)
