Olcay Bayir is an impressive newcomer to London’s vibrant global music scene. Born in the Kurdish region of southern Turkey, she moved to the UK to study opera and classical singing, then started a band, working with musicians from Turkey, Albania, England and Venezuela. There are obvious comparisons with Çiğdem Aslan, the London-based Turkish Kurd who was one of the discoveries of last year, but Bayir has a different approach. Here, she reworks traditional music from the western borders of Asia and the Mediterranean coast, starting with an Albanian love song before moving to Armenian, Balkan, and Kurdish songs. While Durme, a charming Sephardic lullaby, shows her classical training, elsewhere she switches to dance songs, driven on by clarinet, violin and saz, a Turkish lute. This is an elegant and often gently exquisite set.
