Anatolian Rock Revival is a non-profit project dedicated to bringing the non-mainstream pieces from the Turkish Rock History into the light with unique artworks.

“Music that was made between 1964 to 1980 is somehow lost.”

What’s the original concept behind the Anatolian Rock Revival Project?

Gökhan Yücel: Anatolian Rock Revival Project (in short ARRP) is an art initiative which aims help masses learn about Anatolian Rock that was made before 1980. To reach that goal we use illustration and artworks from different artists.

Music emerging from Turkey has lost its connection to its roots. Most of the people are unaware that we have this great history. We don’t know what we made, or what we were capable of. Music that was made between 1964 to 1980 is somehow lost.

Was it difficult to start with the project?

In the beginning, it started as a pet project among 7-8 friends, but after posting the first batch of posters, other artists got interested in the project. Which led to a new song every 2 weeks. Now we have 150 songs and unique artworks for each song. It turned into a huge project and started becoming difficult but it’s worth it.

What’s the usual ‘process’ of posting a song on YouTube?

First, we create a pool for artists to choose from. After they choose and start working on the song we start looking for a clean copy. A friend helps us with analogue mastering. After that, another person digitally remasters the song and then we get the final artwork and post them together. Oh, meanwhile 3 people work for the translation of the song and the description in Turkish and English. We want the world to discover and understand the songs with us.

How was the response so far?

People who stumble upon the channel love it. We have 99,5% like ratio for each song. I mean, the songs and the artworks are great but people also sympathises with the goal of the project and this helps us to create a deeper bond with the followers.

What are some of the biggest discoveries?

There are some hidden gems like Yabancılar. They have just one record and in it, this perfect song ‘Ağıt’ (Requiem), one of my favourites. Also L.S.D. Orchestra is another discovery I find amusing. To have a band with that name in Turkey, quite unbelievable for that time. Other than these my personal favourites are Batman Orchestra and Hardal.

Turkey had a coup d’etat in 1980, which wiped most of the cultural elements at the time.

1980 coup was a huge blow to the culture in Turkey. Many of these artists had to flee (like Cem Karaca) or got arrested (Edip Akbayram, Selda Bağcan etc.). Their recordings were banned. So most of the music of that era couldn’t survive this coup. (Transition from LP to cassettes also influenced this situation)

“Each artwork takes about 1-4 months.”

Do you give a lot of thought to the visual aspects that represent the channel?

To be honest, it’s the most important thing for us. Because these are not just drawings that accompany songs. Because of the internet algorithms, in the near future, you’ll see these artworks whenever you search for any of these songs. That’s why the artists have a burden to come up with artwork worthy of the song and carry the legacy together. We specifically tell the artists about this situation and if the output doesn’t match the quality of the song, sometimes we have to reject the artwork. Each artwork takes about 1-4 months. We give the artists all the time they want. They can finish in 2 years if they want. We just care about the final work’s quality.

You have Patreon. What can someone expect from subscribing to your channel there?

This project doesn’t get any help from any institution or a company. That’s why we came up with a Patreon page. We have different packages with different bonuses. For example, if you donate 5$, you get to listen to the next week’s song earlier than anyone. At 10$, you get to choose the next song with a poll and see the sketch processes of the songs. At 20$ you get 2 HD digital posters from the project. at 100$ you become a counsellor for the project. Get 5 posters a month and we decide things together.