Grup Yorum has been around for so many decades that it was another shameful censorship by Turkish authorities. We all know that it has affiliations to an outlawed armed revolutionary organization, but that organization is not even active nowadays. And audiences for the band are definitely beyond that group. I find this censorship really unnecessary. In the meantime, Grup Yorum responds to censorship by making all albums public
In late May 2025, Turkish authorities ordered the blocking of access to 454 Grup Yorum videos on YouTube, citing national security and public order concerns. These videos, published between 2006 and 2024 and collectively viewed over 205 million times, were made unavailable to users in Turkey across 56 different channels, including the group’s official YouTube channel. The court order was based on provisions of Turkish law that allow content removal or access bans for content deemed threatening to national security or public order179.
Additionally, there are reports of Grup Yorum’s music being banned from major streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify in Turkey48. The group has responded to these censorship measures by making all their albums publicly available in defiance of the bans2.
This recent escalation is part of a longstanding pattern of state repression against Grup Yorum, which has included concert bans since 2016, repeated detentions of band members, and ongoing accusations by the government of links to the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP/C)136.
Who is Grup Yorum?
Grup Yorum is a politically engaged, revolutionary music collective founded in Istanbul in 1985 by four university students—Ayşegül Yordam, Metin Kahraman, Tuncay Akdoğan, and Kemal Sahir Gürel—in response to the repressive climate following Turkey’s 1980 military coup146. The group is renowned for its protest music, blending traditional Turkish folk, Anatolian rock, and influences from global revolutionary movements such as the Latin American nueva canción tradition457.
Grup Yorum’s music is characterized by its strong social and political commentary, addressing issues such as capitalism, imperialism, state violence, workers’ rights, and the struggles of marginalized communities247. Their lyrics are sung not only in Turkish but also in Kurdish, Zaza, Laz, Arabic, and other regional languages, making them pioneers in multilingual musical expression in Turkey145. The group’s instrumentation combines traditional instruments like the saz, kaval, and mey with modern instruments such as guitar, violin, and trumpet12.
Over the years, Grup Yorum has released more than 20 albums and participated in hundreds of social movements, protests, and mass actions148. Despite facing relentless state repression—including over 400 lawsuits, arrests, concert bans, album seizures, and the tragic deaths of two members from hunger strikes—the group has remained highly influential and popular, especially among Turkish and Kurdish progressives468. Their concerts have drawn crowds in the hundreds of thousands, and their music continues to inspire resistance and solidarity both in Turkey and internationally458.
Grup Yorum is not formally affiliated with any political party or organization, though it is frequently targeted by authorities who accuse it of links to outlawed groups. The band consistently denies these claims and emphasizes its independence and commitment to social justice through music145.
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