Secret Planet: Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek

Derya Yıldırım and Grup Şimşek are internationally recognized for their unique and infectious sound that combines Anatolian folk with psychedelia, pop and soul influences. They have released two albums and one EP since their start in 2014 and have been touring extensively throughout Europe. The band is fronted by Hamburg-born singer and bağlama player Derya Yıldırım. Despite being multilingual, Yıldırım exclusively sings in Turkish: “It’s really important to me because that’s the language I can really express myself in, it’s my emotional language” she explains.