If you love world jazz and fancy a cool weekend getaway in September look no further than the Aegean island of Bozcaada and its annual three day jazz festival. Accessible by sea – a short ferry ride (40 mins) from either Geyikli or Çanakkale – this cosy island measures just 37 square kilometres and has […]
Musically impossible to pigeon-hole, Lalalar’s sound is a futuristic mash-up straddling punk rock, Anatolian psychedelic funk, and dirty electronic beats. Iggy Pop is a fan, describing them as “Turkey’s most innovative alternative artists”. The band’s name is adapted from the Ottoman word ‘Lālā’ (meaning “wise man”), used to describe the teacher of Sultans. It’s an […]
One of Turkiye’s biggest stars of hip-hop and trap music, Ezhel will be performing for one night only in London at the start of 2024. The rapper, who made his name as one of the faces of Turkiye’s counter-culture, using his fresh lyrical style to reflect Anatolian city life, will hit London on the back […]
One of Turkiye’s biggest indie rock stars, Emre Aydın, will be back in Britain in October for an exclusive date at London’s O2 Academy Islington. The singer-songwriter, whose accolades include winning ‘Europe’s Favourite Act’ at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008, has penned a host of hit songs, including Bu Yağmurlar, Son Defa, Sensiz İstanbul’a […]
One of Turkiye’s biggest rappers, Uzi, will be performing an exclusive London concert at Indigo2 this autumn. Utku Cihan Yalçınkaya, better known by his stage name Uzi, has been making waves since releasing his debut album Kan [Blood] in 2021, which spawned hits “Krvn” and “Umrumda Değil”. Kan was listed in Spotify Turkiye’s Top 10 […]
British Turkish Cypriot Erol Alkan has been making waves in his many creative guises, whether it be DJ, producer, label owner, club promoter, radio host or collaborator. In a career spanning decades, Alkan’s history as a champion of alternative and electronic music culture, reads “almost like mythology”. He is the shy boy who snuck out […]
Make the most of London summertime with this cool rooftop part in Hampstead on Sunday. DJ Yılmaz Sumbul spins a fine selection of Turkish classics and current pop and dance hits, perfect for this all dayer under the sun as you sip cocktails and boogie on down. The party kicks off at 3.30pm at Tetto’s […]
Singer-songwriter Djanan Turan shares the first two singles from her upcoming new album Love’s Company, Diamond In Black, sang in English, and Yangın [Fire] in Turkish. The two songs, while musically different, convey through their emotionally charged melodies and powerful, socially conscious lyrics the deep injustices of today’s world. Yangın, produced in Hackney’s award-winning Fossil […]
Anatolian fiddle / kamança player Melisa Yıldırım and Indian tabla player Swarupa Ananth created musical magic when they met in early 2022 during a OneBeat 9 residency in Florida and recorded a spontaneous and extraordinary album in one take, now released as Hues of Imagination. This month, the duo meet for the first time since […]
Tributes have been paid to one of Turkiye’s greatest musicians, violinist Suna Kan, who died at the weekend aged 86. The virtuoso enjoyed a celebrated solo, orchestral and teaching career in Turkiye and abroad. Kan was described as “The symbolic name of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s ‘music revolution’” by Andante Magazine. Paying tribute with a series […]
