WAX POETIC’s Istanbul is the second part in a three-part series of records from the Nublu founder and bandleader Ilhan Ersahin’s Wax Poetic project. Where the first album in the series saw Ersahin collaborating with vocalist Marla Turner and Thor Madsen in the spirit of bands like Garbage, Istanbul brings Ilhan to his father’s homeland to paint his own picture of modern day Turkey — a street-art portrait that is vibrant and current, one that tosses the “world music” misnomer on its head.

In Istanbul Ersahin aligns with the premier modern musicians in the city that is the gateway between East and West, bridging the gab between the two without a hint of pandering to either side. Reverberating hand drums and fretless bass slide in perfectly with Ilhan’s saxophone, sampling, and Rhodes; dub, electronics and effects are masterfully used to transition between seemingly disparate sounds; and vocalists whisper and coo above and beyond, adding a ghostly sensation that reflects a city with a history that itself echoes the history of the world.

1. DREAMLAND
2. VAR DA
3. CIHANGIR listen
4. THEIR MODD
5. HOPPALA listen
6. ISTANBUL LIGHTHOUSE
7. ISTANBUL CAN BE DUB
8. KEYIF
The Relaxed Minute
9. MORNING PRAYER FOR US
10. SAINTS
11. STRIPTEASE IN ISTANBUL listen
12. CALLING OUR GODS