Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek Share "Cool Hand (Live from Diamond Mine)" + Performing in NYC Tonight

DERYA YILDIRIM & GRUP ŞIMŞEK SHARE “COOL HAND” LIVE AT DIAMOND MINE - WATCH HERE PERFORMING TONIGHT IN BROOKLYN AT THE SULTAN ROOM Photo by Philomena Wolflingseder

Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek is internationally recognized for their unique and infectious sound that combines Anatolian folk with psychedelia, pop and soul influences. They have extensive worldwide tour plans on the books, including their first ever U.S. shows wrapping up tonight at the Sultan Room in NYC. Also, newly signed to Big Crown Records, their third full length album is due in the spring of 2025. They came to New York in June of 2024 to record their new album at The Diamond Mine Studio in Queens with Leon Michels (El Michels Affair) handling production. The first two songs from those sessions were recently released as 7” – “Cool Hand” (A-Side) and “Yakamoz” (B-Side) – ORDER HERE. Today, the band shares a live version of “Cool Hand,” recorded during those sessions. Watch “Cool Hand (Live From Diamond Mine)” here: https://youtu.be/r5fIYQ0GDPA. “Cool Hand” is a beautiful juxtaposition of intensity and lightheartedness with lyrics that explore the depths of unrequited love while the music is uplifting and bright. Derya’s passionate vocals and maverick Saz playing ride atop the band’s infectious groove as she conjures images of pink mountains and unbloomed yellow tulips. The message is poetic and complicated, repeatedly declaring “I love you, I’m crazy about you” but ultimately ending a sense of peace through accepting a broken heart. Listen here: https://lnk.to/CoolHand.  WATCH “COOL HAND (LIVE AT DIAMOND MINE)”

Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek 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. The band’s Graham Mushnik (organ, synthesizers) and Antonin Voyant (guitar, bass, and flute) are both members of outer-national collective Catapulte Records, known for their cinematic, groovy atmospheres — a clear influence on Grup Şimşek’s sprawling, vintage-tinged compositions. Capetonian drummer Helen Wells has introduced her own style and sensibilities from the South African DIY and psychedelic scenes into the live set since 2022. Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek will soon be reaching new ears around the globe. FOLLOW DERYA YILDIRIM & GRUP ŞIMŞEK: Instagram * Facebook * YouTube * Soundcloud