lockdown : vinyl find #11.

This is a small one. A 45rpm. I don't buy many 45's, as I don't have the same pleasure listening to them as I have with a 20-minute side. But from time to time, when I fall on a good piece, or something that reminds me of a good time, I can buy. 

As I was touring in Turkey, jumping from one bus to another along the southern coast, I didn't stop for records in most towns. I only did it in the last one, which was Izmir. Rain was pouring, and a cold one on top of it. Cats and dogs. Izmir hosts so many good record stores that I had to spend more than the usual one or two days there ; I stayed four days. Several stores are located within the bazar ; it's a maze, but they're pretty well known, and located next to the jewellers, on the first floor of a building that is right next to a mosque. In those stores, you'll find the vintage Turkish rock you're looking for, although they're pricey ; they adjusted the prices to the high demand, both domestic and international. Baris Manço, Erkin Koray, Okay Temiz, Ersen, Alpay... you name it... I bought quite a few, and consequently spent a lot. Then, I visited other stores, outside the bazar. And even in the northern part of town. 

There, there was this book store, that also had a lot of records, mostly foreign records and new stuff from the current Turkish scene. I wanted to buy several records, but started lacking cash, as I bought too many (or too expensive ones) at the bazar. So, at night time, before end of business, I left the record at the store, and ran to the closest ATM, which was not very close to the store. The machine swallowed my credit card. Now, that's something you don't want to happen when you're abroad. Ever. But it did happen. And I was left, so to speak, with my dick in my hand. Fortunately, it was my last night in Turkey and I had enough money for a train ticket to the airport, and maybe have a tea there. But nothing more. 

So, I went back to the shop, and took advantage of it to find shelter from the heavy rain and call the Visa service, with nothing but my sorry face to show to the owner. 

But there were better moment of digging of course. In a very small shop, I found these two old guys, one without teeth, who were talking about music while hiding liquor behind the desk. I sat down in front of a turntable with a few records to listen to, and after a few minutes the owner started providing me with more and more records to listen to. I tend to think it was not oriented, he just wanted me to listen. Minutes passed by, then an hour, and the two guys were getting pretty drunk... As I started mentioning the names of the big stars, the owner went to his secret stash and unveiled treasures. Among them, was the 45 by Okay Temiz, with the track "Dokuz sekiz" on it. It's a tribal,  heavy psychedelic piece of music. And the A side is on the same level, though less crazy and more folk-ish. So it's a classic among diggers and can cost a small fortune. Although the owner insisted, I refused to buy it considering the high price, and also because the cover was a colour scan of the original. I went back to listening some other records, selected what I wanted to take away, and went to the counter... the bill was big again. As I was leaving with a big smile, the drunk owner slapped Temiz' 45 on top of my pile of records. As a gift. 

Okay Temiz - Dokuz sekiz / Denizalti Rüzgarlari.

Here are the two tracks.

Turkish kindness. Or drunkenness.