Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek

Turkish-German singer/songwriter and bağlama player Derya Yıldırım, together with her band Grup Şimşek, combine Anatolian folk with psychedelia, pop and R&B influences. Born in Hamburg, Yıldırım displayed precocious musical talent. At music college she studied the bağlama, or saz -- a long-necked, six-stringed lute -- the only student in Germany to have it as her principal instrument. Yıldırım began her musical career performing Anatolian classical music before switching to more modern forms and putting together a band, Grup Şimşek ("Lightning Band"), in 2014; a global affair with musicians from France, Italy, and the U.K., they called their sound "outernational." The group's debut album, Kar Yağar ("Snow Falls"), was issued in 2019. The EP Dost 1 ("Friend") appeared in 2021, and their second album Dost 2 the following year. Their third album Yarın Yoksa ("If There Is No Tomorrow") was released in March 2025. ~ John D. Buchanan