Erkin Koray

Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Erkin Koray was the most influential figure in the history of Turkish rock music. Possessed of a crystalline, powerful baritone voice, he was a unique and accomplished guitarist and inventor of the electric baglama (saz), a long-necked lute-like folk instrument whose unique sound (a cross between an oud, sitar, and electric guitar) graced his recordings. His compositions melded oriental and Turkish folk melodies and songs with Middle Eastern themes, along with psych-driven, progressively influenced rock. He fathered the A...