MoÃÂollar (Mongols in Turkish) was one of the pioneering bands in Turkish rock music during their early career and one of the founders of Turkish folk rock (or Anatolian rock). They have been active for over 40 years. The band uses multi-layered dynamism in the Turkish folk genre to create a sonic similarity with pop music's dynamism.
The band was founded end of 1967 by Aziz Azmet, Murat Ses and Aydin Daruga.
In 1970, Hasan Sel was replaced by Taner ÃÂngür, previously a member of Meteorlar (Meteors) and the Erkin Koray Quartet. The band tried to fuse the technical aspects of pop music with the melodies of Anatolian folk music in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
In July 1970, Aziz Azmet, the band's vocalist left the band due to musical disagreements and Ersen Dinleten replaced him for a short time. MoÃÂollar recorded Ternek/Haliç'te Gün Batñà Âñ (Ternek/Sunset on the Golden Horn) on a 45 rpm single, and left for Paris in August 1970. While they went to Paris, they signed a 3-year contract with CBS, releasing a 45 rpm single Hitchin/Behind the Dark in 1972. They made one album for the imprint "Guild International du Disque", Danses et Rythmes de la Turquie -- d'Hier d'Aujourd'hui. This album was recognized by the French Académie Charles Cros in 1971, earning comparisons to Pink Floyd. By that time, they met with BarÃ±à  Manço and started to work with him while he was living in Belgium.
In 1968 the group won the third place in Turkish music contest Golden Microphone. In 1971 the group won the Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy for their instrumental album Danses et Rythmes de la Turquie.
In 1971, BarÃ±à  Manço joined as vocalist and the band was renamed Manchomongol. Manchomongol recorded two 45 rpms, and this partnership ended after four months. Also, Engin YörükoÃÂlu stayed in Paris, and the drummer of Mavi Ià Âñklar (Blue Lights), Ayzer Danga, joined the band to replace him.
MoÃÂollar recorded one single with Selda BaÃÂcan during the first half of 1972. Ersen then re-joined the band in July 1972 and they recorded another single. Murat Ses left the band in August 1972. In September 1972, MoÃÂollar replaced their soloists with Cem Karaca, who was then the soloist of Kardaà Âlar (Brothers).This partnership of Cem Karaca and MoÃÂollar lasted for two years and they produced the song, Namus Belasñ, which became a great hit.
In 1974, Taner ÃÂngür and Ayzer Danga left the band. ÃÂngür joined Dadaà Âlar, a band with Ersen Dinleten between 1974âÂÂ1975 and 1979âÂÂ1980 and Dervià Âan (Dervishes), a band with Cem Karaca between 1974 and 1978. He also briefly joined Dostlar, a band with Edip Akbayram in 1975. Danga initially joined Kardaà Âlar between 1974 and 1975. He participated in Erkin Koray's 'Elektronik Türküler' (Electronic Songs) album in 1975. He then joined Dostlar between 1975 and 1978; Güneà Âin Sofrasñ, a band with Kerem Güney (1939-2012) in 1979; Dadaà Âlar, a band with Ersen Dinleten in 1983 and Zorbeyler in 1984 before his retirement from music. Meanwhile, Cahit Berkay left for France after the dissolution of the band to meet with Engin YörükoÃÂlu. Cahit and Engin recorded two albums under the name MoÃÂollar. They also recorded a single with Ali Rñza BinboÃÂa in 1975. The band completely dissolved in 1976.
After a 17-year absence, Cahit Berkay, Taner ÃÂngür and Engin YörükoÃÂlu reformed the band in 1993, and were joined by keyboard player Serhat Ersöz. Murat Ses is dealing with other projects and is still pursuing an extraordinary international career.
In 2007, the Advertising agency TBWA decided to use MoÃÂollar's track from the late 1960's, Garip ÃÂoban (translated - Lonesome Shepherd; written by Murat Ses) in the This is Living advertisement campaign for Sony's PlayStation 3. Emrah Karaca (son of Cem Karaca) joined MoÃÂollar in 2007 as a vocalist and guitarist. Engin YörükoÃÂlu was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007 and died in 2010.