The beloved group Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek is internationally renowned for its unique and infectious sound, which harks back to the psychedelic waves that swept through Anatolia to Istanbul in the 1960s and ’70s. Soon, the quartet is set to release their third studio album on Big Crown Records, and in connection with this, they will be performing a concert at ALICE.

The beloved quartet Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek is internationally renowned for its unique and infectious sound, which harks back to the psychedelic waves that swept through Anatolia to Istanbul in the 1960s and ’70s. Led by Turkish, Hamburg-born singer and bağlama player Derya Yıldırım, the group beautifully blends Anatolian folk music with psych, pop, and soul. Graham Mushnik (organ and synthesizers) and Antonin Voyant (guitar, bass, and flute), both members of the Catapulte Records collective known for their cinematic, groovy atmospheres, enrich Grup Şimşek’s sound with grand, vintage-tinged compositions. The band’s drummer, Helen Wells from Cape Town, has brought her own style and attention to detail to the live set since 2022, influenced by the South African DIY and psychedelia scene. At the heart of it all are Derya Yıldırım’s brilliant string work, crystal-clear vocals, and lyrics in her native Turkish!

Since Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek’s formation in 2014, they have released two albums and one EP, toured across Europe, and delivered remarkable performances at ALICE in 2019 and Roskilde Festival in 2023, where they received 5½/6 hearts from Undertoner. The group has just signed with Big Crown Records, where their third album is produced by Leon Michels (El Michels Affair). The first single, “Cool Hand,” sets the bar high for what we can expect when Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek return to our stage in Nørrebro on March 14.