ZADIF
From left to right: Can Koçlar, Joe Bowles, and Thomas Helm
Zadif is an indie psychedelic folk trio of Thomas Helm, Can Koçlar, and Joe Bowles. Their music weaves open-tuned finger-picked guitar, jazz-inflected trumpet, lush orchestration, and philosophical lyricism into meditative soundscapes carried by mesmerising vocals. Sound engineering and mastering by Ege Geveli. Album artwork by Asli Konaç,
Their second album, “Eternal Return” was recorded in April 2025 and is due for release soon. Watch this space.
Their first album, “Nine Eagles and the Silvery Water”, features only Thomas Helm and Joe Bowles.
Can field recording in a magic beech forest in Asturias, Spain. Many of these ambient sounds will find their way into Eternal Return.
Panda, the Turkish street cat, loves to be a part of the music-making process
Thomas Helm and Joe Bowles working hard at Zadif’s semi-subterranean music studio in Asturias, Spain
The Story Behind Zadif
The name Zadif comes from Senior Zadith (Muhammad ibn Umayl al-Tamimi), a 10th-century alchemist who viewed alchemy not as chemistry but as a symbolic, psychological process of transformation. His vision — later echoed in Jung’s work — resonates with our own: music as an alchemy of sound and spirit, distilling melody and meaning from the raw materials of a life in continuous metamorphosis.
