After a pair of cold and rainy days, the sun made a brief appearance here in Istanbul this afternoon. I decided that it wasn’t coincidence that I came across the band Light in Babylon soon thereafter jamming on Istiklal Avenue, this city’s busiest pedestrian thoroughfare. The wet and chill left me with a cold; the trio’s music blanketed it with a smile. Thank you.

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This is vocalist Michal Elia Kamal – captivating voice.

Metehan Çiftçi playing the Santur, a Persian hammered dulcimer:

and guitarist Julien Demarque:

I bought their CD, Life Sometimes Doesn’t Give You Space, and you should too. I’m looking forward to giving it a listen when I’m back home in Ljubljana Wednesday afternoon. Hopefully they’ll let me use a song or two in some Istanbul videos I’ll be working on over the next couple weeks. Maybe if I ask really nicely.

Here are all links you’ll need for a little while. Check ‘em out! [ Facebook page ] [ Facebook group ]  [ Reverbnation ]  [ Myspace ]  [ Bandcamp ]

Okay, okay. By popular demand, one more picture of Michal Elia: