"...As an expert in both carpentry and electronics, Ozkent was keen to combine his skills with his interests in music and science. Fuelled by a passion for traditional music values the natural progression was inevitable and as Mustafa’s reputation and repetoire of original compositions mutated so did his instruments. Not unlike a Turkish Harry Partch, Mustafa went on to invent specially treated guitars with additional frets enabling him to replicate unique notes similar to that of a saz or lute allowing the musician to emulate the sound of Western Jimi Hendrix style wah-wah and fuzz while retaining the versatility and rawness of the traditional Eastern sensibilites which ran through young Istanbul’s veins. From here on Mustafa’s legacy continued to mutate, and Turkish pop music metamorphosised beyond its wildest dreams, leaving an instrumental album like Gençlik Ile Elele silently seminal, but in time virtually unattainable.

Recorded in 1972 for one of Turkey’s more obscure bespoke record labels Evren records, who were keen to experiment with new developments in stereo reproduction for a commercial market. Ozkent had a good reputation amongst forward-thinking studio engineers and was respected for his work as an arranger with an open mind and wealth of unique musicians at his disposal. On request of Evren bosses, Mustafa embarked on his first self-penned LP which would test the boundaries of the new sonic medium by creating a lively and futuristic rhythmical pop sound. Mustafa enlisted the services of ‘Evren’ Hammond organist Umit Aksu who would inject Hawkshaw style Champ-vamps throughout the LP while a young (future Anadolu SSW star) Cahit Oben would accompany Mustafa on a second guitar to secure some heavy Anatolian-psych interplay begging comparisons to that of Micky Karoli from Krautrockers Can (albeit in a slightly less teutonic environment). The utilisation of twin drummers and a percussionist who would play long rhythmical passages without accompaniment would also explain a secure future audience amongst DJs who were lucky enough to track down the original article (naturally on this release we have done our very best to preserve the upmost sound quality of all these music elements with the assistance of Mr. Ozkent himself using the original stereo mastertapes). After initial rehearsals of Ozkent’s new compositions, Evern were able to secure studio time at Istanbul’s legendary Grafson studios where the full band would assemble to record the live music in single takes without overdubs and in the absence of multi channel recording Mustafa adopted some handy microphone techniques to emulate the total-stereo effect and capture the heavy psychedelic effects and solid close-miked beat breaks.

In 1973, the ten track album was released with the Turkish title Gençlik Ile Elele (Hand In Hand With Youth) with a warm reception from DJs and nightclubbers through the city, whilst receiving regular plays on radio and television. Despite the cutting-edge approach to Ozkent’s eclectic arrangements, the fact that the album was – as originally requested – devoid of vocals, Evren decided not to release any singles from the LP and all the compositions were exclusive to this rare vinyl long player release (many collectors of Turkish vinyl will be aware that within time a huge number of Turkish LPs were taken off the shelves and destroyed or recycled due to oil-shortages, though 45s were spared). Within a short time as the Anatolian psych explosion approached its hiatus, Gençlik Ile Elele paled into the acid-stained paisly backdrop overnight – a familiar tale throughout the Finders Keepers catalogue. Unwounded however, and without hesitation, Mustafa went on to be a hugely in-demand arranger and producer concentrating on his own unaccompanied and truly experimental guitar and saz ventures relentlessly up until recent months and undoubtedly beyond. The Anatolian Invasion continues."

- Finders Keepers