Okay Temiz

Percussionist and composer Okay Temiz scored two underground hits in his native Turkey with “Denizaltı Rüzgarları” (translation: “Submarine Winds”) and Dokuz Sekiz. The songs are slinky, eerie funk/psych/jazz hybrid that marries Temiz‘ impeccable chops as a percussionist to a lute-like Turkish saz and some truly otherworldly sounding Moog riffing. They're both purely instrumental and almost appear to borrow elements from Brazilian music and in particular Tropicalia, though the melody is clearly identifiable as of Anatolian origin. The songs were released as a 7″ single on the Turkish Yonca label and is much sought after by collectors.

Okay Temiz was born in Istanbul in 1939. He initially studied music under his classically-trained mother before attending the Ankara Musical Conservatory. He quickly became Turkey’s pre-eminent jazz and in particular, jazz-fusion drummer in the early ’70s. He eventually moved to Sweden where he continues to reside to this day. Temiz not only recorded with his fellow Turkish musicians, but also with American and European performers, including with free-jazz and World Music pioneer, Don Cherry. Temiz continues to perform, both as a bandleader and as part of Xaba, a group he co-founded with South African trumpeter, Mongezi Feza.