2350.org - Sultan

Word to the curious: I don't own the original Sultan yet, so my impressions cannot vouch for the originality of the recording.

I like this album quite a bit. Very interesting, with about 75% of the noises from Burhan's body and instruments, and the rest from Namlook.

Part 1 - 4:58: Starts out well, with Namlook's legato Moog sounds. Bass enters, and you >know< it's going to be good. At 2:20, Burhan enters with his Turkish guitar, and you know it's going to be >great<.

Part 2 - 8:34: Lots o' acoustic percussion. A lot of emphasis on the kettle drums (Kos). At 3:20, Burhan plays a funky squeaky-rubber-door noise to prepare us for Namlook's re-entrance. At about the same time, we also hear vocal chanting. This various instruments fade one-by-one until someone starts speaking something foreign.

Part 3 - 5:46: Mostly a sitar (?) solo. Namlook takes over only for the coda. Percussion then introduces us to...

Part 4 - 11:41: The Fat Boys of Turkey! :-) Actually, it's just Burhan adding some vocal percussive noises to his other percussion. Namlook then adds some old-school techno melodies to it. At 3:00, a vocal incantation induces a 180 degree turn to another Turkish guitar thing. The vocals continue, then herald yet another change of pace. Burhan accompanies some of his softer percussion with some more Fat Boys, and at 8:45, Namlook's old-school is back in session. At 10:30, you think the song has ended, but the track number hasn't changed yet as the solo Turkish guitar closes out the song. This could easily have been Parts 4 through 6 or 7, but heck, I like it anyway.

Part 5 - 9:39: Starts out minimal, like Part 1 but softer. At 3:10, another foreign speaker tells us all the meaning of life, but again it remains a secret among those who speak the language. Percussion slowly enters over Namlook's sequence. At 7:37 Burhan vocalizes his percussion again, but it's much more subdued.

Part 6 - 1:02: Solo acoustic guitar interlude.

Part 7 - 5:54: Very melodic mix of guitars and percussion. Little or no sign of Namlook from what I can hear.

Very good. 9.5 out of 10.

(review by Damon Capehart)