Painless sees singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya at her most direct and open yet. The album title comes from a grown understanding that pain isn’t always a negative thing, a freeing experiencing that simultaneously released a kind of joy while making this record. The 12-track album, Nilüfer’s second following her acclaimed 2019 debut Miss Universe, is full […]
Without a doubt Erdem’s namesake brand has had an extraordinary fifteen years in fashion with many highlights. T-VINE takes a look back at some of the London-based Canadian-Turkish designer’s most memorable moments. Erdem is known for championing inclusion and diversity. When British Vogue asked him to pick 15 unforgettable moments from his career, he said […]
Binge watching the Harry Potter series during the Christmas season has become a yearly tradition for many regardless of age. If we’re being honest, television networks and streaming services take advantage of almost every public holiday where there’s a family gathering to air Harry Potter marathons, but Christmas takes the cake! It’s simply a comfort […]
Last month, was the first in my series on #CelebratingDiversity in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), helping to unfold the lesser known, yet rich and deeply diverse modern cultural heritage of North Cyprus. My explorations took me to The Academy, in the capital Lefkoşa, where I had the chance to tuck into some […]
Beyond the mainstream news and politics in the local press, there is rich, deep and layered amount of history buried in North Cyprus, and a similar amount of diversity. I’ve set out to explore and tell stories about the latter, such as how a young Filipino woman came to be running The Academy, a pan-Asian […]
It was the end of 70s and early 80s, when punk became mainstream, and Franco-Turkish combo progressive rock band Asia Minor hit their stride, releasing two albums back to back. Suddenly the band was attracting the attention of all prog lovers and prominent musicians of the era, including Alan Parsons, who was recording an album […]
Rock musician Hakan Tuna has returned with his third release, Esenkent Dansı, from his 2021 project ‘12 songs 12 stories’. Wholly instrumental, the track is inspired by his experience as a Londoner living in Istanbul. Hakan was born and raised in the British capital, growing up in a “typical London Victorian era house”, so the apartment […]
In these uncertain and unsettling coronavirus times, it’s vital we nourish our minds and spirit with positivity, and when this new track from Sezin Angelova dropped in my inbox, I eagerly lapped it up. The London-based singer songwriter has teamed up with multi-instrumentalist and seasoned session musician Jomy Jai for her gorgeous debut release that […]
“All great transcendental art is not merely symbolic or imaginary: it is a direct invitation to recognize and realize a deeper dimension of our very own being,” wrote Ken Wilber in the foreword to The Mission of Art by Alex Grey. And so it was with a stunning piece of performance art by Sumer Erek on […]
The new album by BaBa ZuLa, Hayvan Gibi [‘Like An Animal’], was released by Night Dreamer last month. In Turkish, the phrase ‘Hayvan Gibi’ is widely used for musicians who play extraordinarily; an expression of virtuosity about an unbelievably good performance, on a par with “Hey man, this band is out of this world,” making it an […]
