I heard about Tarkan in a rather roundabout way...first a snippet of his trademark kiss-kiss "Simarik" on a world music program about 3 years ago...the snappy rhythms caught my attention,but the announcer failed to mention the artist when the song was finished. I resigned myself to remaining eternally ignorant of the origins of that amazingly catchy song, and had all but forgotten about it until last month, when I purchased, totally at random, a Middle Eastern pop compilation (Indestructible Arabian Beats by Manteca, great CD, buy it too!). And one of the songs..none other than the funky "Simarik", except sung by another artist in Spanish!! Too cool. Anyways, after much cryptic research, I finally traced the song back to Tarkan, and decided I had to get more of his material. It is some of the most intriguing high quality pop on the market (with the added exotic attraction of being Turkish and being sung the by the deliciously hot Tarkan.)
"Dudu" delivers on all counts. It's perfectly arranged, performed, and remixed. The title track, "Dudu", is simply one of the best pop songs I have ever heard. It's original and exotic without being contrived (ie. without trying way too hard to be exotic a la Shakira/Aguilera and all the rest of the bubblegum brigade). It's upbeat and massively infectious without ever becoming monotonous. The melody loops and swirls and glides effortlessly around the distinctively Turkish rhythms without ever obscuring them, and frames Tarkan's smoky rich voice, which I consider to be without equal in the largely puerile world of pop. His vocals are showcased best on the album's non-pop tracks, which have him singing with only a baglama (a Turkish lute) plucking away in the background. This album is a great mix of "Tarkan unplugged" type material which, as I said, features him singing with some very sparse accompaniment (by pop standards, anyways)and leans more towards the Turkish Classical repertoire, and outright pop extravaganzas such as as Dudu and Gueluemse Kaderine. The remixes are great too, adding a third "chillout" dimension to the album, particularly the last track. This recommendation comes from an avowed pop-averse crusader against the insipid pap that rules the airwaves. Have I convinced you yet? If not, go to www.tulumba.com and search for Dudu. There, you can find clips from each song on the album and decide for yourself (since Amazon hasn't uploaded any yet).
What more can I say... this is real Turkish Delight ;)