BaBa ZuLa

BaBa ZuLa celebrates its 30th anniversary at Grounds with a theatrical mix of Turkish psychedelic music, rock, folk and dub. The Istanbul group calls its distinctive sound ‘Istanbul psychedelia’, combining traditional instruments with electronics, unconventional percussion and free-flowing improvisation. The band formed in 1996 and began experimenting with everyday objects such as spoons, toys and machines. These sit alongside instruments including darbuka, electric saz and a modern Turkish drum machine, creating music that connects old traditions with contemporary sounds. No two BaBa ZuLa concerts are quite the same. Costumes, belly dancers, poetry and theatrical elements turn the performance into a colourful audiovisual ritual that moves between East and West, past and present.