(headline image: AySay – Photo by Sebastian Vistisen)
AySay tells a migration story in three tongues. Luna Ersahin’s voice moves like a compass needle between Turkish, Danish, and Kurdish. The trio, Ersahin alongside electric guitarist Carl West Hosbond and percussionist/drummer Aske Døssing Bendixen, works as a small collective with big reach, where hand-played instruments and crisp electronics meet at the village square.
AySay’s language of arrangement features ornamented vocal lines that coil around steady grooves; saz and electric guitar trade roles as guide and foil; percussion and drums sketch propulsive grooves that open the floor to dance. Attentive listeners will hear interwoven ideas and unexpected turns. Dancers will catch a lift in the hips.
The group’s second concert arrived at the opening ceremony for European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017, with the city’s jazz and symphony orchestras and an audience of 70,000. That scale did not blur their focus; it clarified a mission to carry intimate themes to a wide circle without sanding off identity.
Festival stages followed, Roskilde, Heartland, and Tønder at home; Sinsal in Spain, Arctic Sounds in Greenland, Les Escales in France, and a summer run across Canada, culminating in a November 2022 return that included world music showcase Mundial Montreal. Recognition kept pace: three Dma Roots Awards honored them as Name of the Year, Album of the Year for Su Akar, and Luna Ersahin as Composer of the Year.
The debut album Su Akar (2021) introduced a trio fluent in contrast. Köy (October 2023) sharpened the premise by circling a single word, “village.” The album draws meaning from three sources: a research trip to a small community in southern Turkey with Turkish folk musician Ozan Demir; a family history that begins in a Kurdish village in Çorum and continues in Denmark; and a broader idea of community, from the home you inherit to the one you build through language, friendship, gender, sexuality, or work.
On Köy, original songs are featured beside reimagined folk material with new Danish lyrics. The record balances pop-leaning tendencies and Anatolian psych-rock bite.
AySay are: Luna Ersahin on vocals, saz; Carl West Hosbond on electric guitar; and Aske Døssing Bendixen on percussion, drums.
Discography:
Su Akar (2021)
Köy (No Bounds Music, 2023)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.