Tünel is the Turkish word for “tunnel”. The one pictured here carries water 120 kilometres across Finland from Lake Päijänne to a reservoir at Vantaa on the outskirts of Helsinki. (The photo was taken when it was undergoing refurbishment.) It seems unlikely, though, that Naci Oğuz had this particular rock channel in mind when he composed this track.

Tünel is a single taken from Naci Oğuz’s recently released debut album, Kirpi İkilemi (The Hedgehog’s Dilemma). It’s an atmospheric electric guitar and double bass tune. Soft notes ricochet off hard stone walls as they fade into the darkness ahead of us, and all the while a profound sense of calmness and serenity pervades the cool, damp air.

Neither the artist nor the album have left more than a faint smudge in cyberspace. Spotify’s artist page says that Naci Oğuz is a Turkish guitarist and composer based in Istanbul. Apart from its title, I can find no information at all about the album. I can say, though, that “the hedgehog’s dilemma” encapsulates how you feel when a growing intimacy is bound to lead to someone getting hurt. Perhaps, then, Tünel is the tunnel of love.

Then again, Tünel may have been inspired by the longest flight through a tunnel by an aircraft. This world record was claimed by Dario Costa on 4th September 2021, and it happened in Naci Oğuz’s home city of Istanbul.

Could there be a better reason for writing a tune about a tunnel?