few artists can claim to have their own distinctive “musical voice”: a style of composition and production that listeners instantly recognize. for starters, it takes years of experimentation to perfect, and most people simply don’t have the patience, talent or skills to pull it off.
ali kuru is one of those rare producers whose music sounds like nothing else around. the istanbul-based artist has spent the best part of a decade honing his trademark style – a fragrant and intoxicating aural brew that combines a myriad of influences with atmospheric field recordings and snaking, mind-altering middle eastern instrumentation – via releases for the likes of luxa flex, kalisah, sound architecture and, most recently, leng.
it’s to the latter label that the publicity-shy producer returns with his most ambitious release to date, egzotik. 15 tracks and 70 minutes deep, it’s not so much a debut album as a statement of intent. from start to finish, it feels like a humid, sweat-soaked saunter through the winding streets of istanbul in the company of a musician who draws more inspiration than most from his immediate surroundings.