Albums on Display - September 7, 2025

MAVİSAKAL was one of the most special bands in our rock music history. Their masterful reflection of the ill soul of Mavi Sakal, the fable from which they took their name, and their subtle and simple delivery of those dark messages in their seemingly innocent and fun songs alone are qualities that warrant a special place in our history. One of those songs, "İki Yol" (Two Roads), (written and composed by guitarist Kaan Altan) was performed 28 years ago in 1997 with the London Session Orchestra and recorded in London. Despite all the years that have passed, another hero has now emerged: Rainbow45 Salih (Karagöz), who has taken the plunge and released this song, the soundtrack of his youth, for the first time, as a 12-inch 45 record with a two-page insert.

"İki Yol" (Two Roads), which bears all the hallmarks of MAVİSAKAL's songs, is also one of the songs that best captures the spirit of the 1990s Turkish rock era. This cult song is also one of the first examples of combining rock songs with symphony.

Kaan Altan on guitar, Murat Tümer on drums, Genç Osman Yavaş on vocals, Andy Wand on bass; guests Tibet Ağırtan, Bias Boshell, Pate Kivinen, Juho Martikainen. The B-side of the record features instrumental versions of "Başdım Yürümeye" (I Started Walking) and "İki Yol" (Two Roads).

BLUE BEARD 'THE SMELL OF BLOOD' (TÜMER VE TÜMER/RAİNBOW45 RECORDS)

MAVİSAKAL, who recorded the song “İki Yol” in 1997, released an album called “Kan Kokusu” a year later, which included this song, expressing his generation’s reaction to the situation of his own youth, as well as their joy, sadness and longing.

This group of young people, who had been students at Tarsus American High School in the late '70s and then moved to Istanbul to shape the rock scene with their album releases, raised the bar with "Kan Kokusu" (Smell of Blood). "Kan Kokusu" was incredibly rich in sound, bringing grunge and alternative rock closer to our own sound, and featuring enduring songs with profound lyrics. These qualities elevated it to cult status. All ten tracks were a unified whole, but other than "İki Yol" (Two Roads), the album's signature message "Balta" (Balta), and the romantically charged, dark, atmospheric acoustic song "Kan Kokusu" (Blood Smell), were other memorable songs.

After 27 years, "Kan Kokusu" (Blood Smell) remains relevant both in its lyrics and music. Therefore, it fully deserves to be brought back to the forefront. In this respect, MAVİSAKAL is one of the most valuable bands in our rock history. Like "İki Yol," "Kan Kokusu" was also released on vinyl for the first time, and both were also reissued on CD.