Of all the ways Gaye Su Akyol has been defined, none of them quite suffice. She is unequivocally herself, defying categorization by moving and growing deftly through different genres, steered by an era of Turkish psychedelic music—an emotional nucleus of inspiration. The ballads of this golden period of liberated creativity in Turkish history began in the mid 1960s, before being interrupted forcefully by the military coup on September 12th 1980. The music her parents listened to, the songs she grew up with, are a celebration of Turkish folk music and the unadulterated freedom of rock ‘n’ roll. Akyol continues to embody the values of this era, but in her own way, through her own phantasmagorical world of superheroes steeped in unabashed sensuality and powerful femininity—hard edges and truths dressed in shimmering capes and thigh-high iridescent boots.
It can be said that Akyol’s career began when she met the band Bubituzak, with whom she recorded her debut album Develerle Yaşıyorum in 2013. They became part of her art, her masked companions on stage, touring the world and recording the subsequent albums Hologram Imparatorluğu (2016) and Istikrarlı Hayal Hakikattir (2018). The theme of “consistent fantasy is reality” from this album went on to inform Akyol’s work thereafter, as she continued to pursue truth through endless questioning, dreaming and creative experimentation. Akyol’s latest album, Anadolu Ejderi [Anatolian Dragon] is her most liberated work yet. An independent DIY recording and ontological will to power, its essence resides in a belief that the only remedy against pure evil is collective action—the awakening of the slumbering dragon within us all, taking flight towards the horizons, rising and spitting fire. In the album’s first music video for the song Sen Benim Mağaramsın [You Are My Cave], Akyol appears like a bride from another dimension, clad in white garments, feathers and sequins, undulating in silver platform boots. Her usual melodious voice, which carries the soothing yet powerful cadences of Turkish classical music, is harder, different. Akyol is reinventing herself, experimenting and pushing the boundaries, breaking the stereotypes of what it means to be Turkish.
In the lounge of Moda Deniz Kulübü, overlooking the monochrome hues of a rainy Istanbul day, Gaye Su Akyol delves into the origins of her music, her personal truths and the strength of true authenticity…
The Travel Almanac TTA 23, Origins
Photography by Tuğberk Acar
Feride Yalav-Heckeroth 