This summer Salon IKSV continues their wonderful Gezgin Salon series, which sees them taking their amazing program to different destinations, this time returning to the vibrant open-air Parkorman on Saturday 29 and Sunday 29 July. Presented by +1, the music festival has lined up some serious talent yet again. Satori, L’Imperatrice, Agar Agar, Sylvie Kreusch and Emir Taha lead the charge on Saturday, while Jon Hopkins, Büyük Ev Ablukada, Warhaus, Still Corners and Tsar B end the festival in style on Sunday. Tickets are on sale now via Passo.
From Salon IKSV:
The closing act of the festival is Jon Hopkins with his new live set
“One of the most celebrated electronic musicians of his generation” according to The New Yorker, Jon Hopkins gained exposure through his work with Brian Eno, Coldplay and King Creosote in the mid-2000s and gradually found his voice as a solo artist, blending intricately crafted beats with serene, meditative textures. Mercury Prize-nominated Immunity (2013) and Grammy-nominated Singularity (2018), two intense, ambitious albums of spiritually-minded techno and ambient tracks, were among the decade’s most lauded electronic albums. The classically trained Hopkins returned to his essence with Music for Psychedelic Therapy (2021) that is “an album with no beats, not one drum sound, something that is closer to a classical symphony than a dance / electronica record” in his own words. Hopkins participates in the festival with his new live set and visuals, all his own.
Satori’s music is hidden in his name: awakening and enlightenment
Satori, a Japanese term commonly used in Buddhist faith, is described as an awakening, a state of enlightenment, achieved through the sudden realisation of the truth of an experience or natural phenomenon. This pursuit of enlightenment is palpably felt in Satori’s electronic compositions. The son of a South African mother and Serbian father, Satori also draws inspiration from cultural diversity. He sees each performance as a blank canvas, so he can construct a new experience each time. Sometimes he gets up from his set, picks up his guitar or flute, and tags along after an improvised melody. In his latest release Dreamin’ Colors (2022) he revisits his Balkan heritage with an introverted, spiritual eye.
L’Impératrice with their heart-warming, muscle-relaxing soul-funk
They were unable to attend the festival due to a glitch last year, yet the new empress of soul-funk, L’Impératrice is with the Istanbul audience this time. The band made a dizzying streak with their debut album, Matahari, and created a whirlwind effect in their homeland, France, and then all over the world. Their last album, Tako Tsubo, released in 2021, means “octopus trap” in Japanese. Modern medicine is yet to fund a cure for tako tsubo, a heart condition caused by intense emotional distress such as the loss of a loved one or anxiety over rejection, but L’Impératrice will surely ease the symptoms.
Büyük Ev Ablukada (The Big House Under Blockade) is as strange as it sounds
Büyük Ev Ablukada was founded in 2008, borrowing from a poem by Turgut Uyar. They quickly became urban legends with both their songs and their styles. It has members with the strangest nicknames one can imagine in Turkish. After turning their “Ay Şuram Ağrıyo” concert into an album with the name Ay Şuram Hâlâ Ağrıyo, they released their first official album, Full Faça, in 2012. In 2016, they opened the doors of the electronic world wide with their new concept, Fırtınayt. Their second album of the same name passed through this door in 2017. They continue to astonish with their stage energies and their sincere relationship with their followers.
Agar Agar writes the future of electro-pop
The seeds of Agar Agar were planted by Clara Cappagli and Armand Bultheel at Beaux-Arts Paris, an experimental art school. Their 2018 debut studio album The Dog and The Future was followed by hit singles “You’re High”, “Prettiest Virgin”, “I’m That Guy”, which were reminiscent of the dark disco music of the 80s. The band takes its name from a food made from boiled algae that Armand uses to tame his ants. They met with Istanbulites at Salon after their Play Test album that came with its own video game, and now they’re back at the +1 Presents: Gezgin Salon Festival.
Warhaus: the solo project of the front man of Balthazar, Maarten Devoldere
Known as the modern-day Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, Warhaus writes dark and romantic tales of love and life. His 2016 debut album We Fucked a Flame into Being, was an excerpt from D.H. Lawrence’s novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Having made his first visit to Salon after his eponymous second album born in 2017, Warhaus is coming to the festival to invite the audience into his unabashed romanticism after his third album, Ha Ha Hearbreak, released last year. The album came gushing out of Devoldere in a mere three weeks in the sultry city of Palermo. All Devoldere needed was the solitude of a hotel room, a guitar, a microphone, and a heart that had recently been broken in thousands of pieces.
Like staring at the carefree skies of the desert: Still Corners
Tessa Murray and Greg Hughes met at a train station in London, formed Wrecking Lights Records and began releasing music one after another. They traveled miles into the hearts of music lovers with the “The Trip” from their first album, Strange Pleasures, which was viewed 60 million on YouTube. The last piece of the album series announced as a trilogy, The Last Exit, arrived in 2021. Another reflection of the Still Corners’s famous “desert noir” sound, The Last Exit takes listeners on a trip through dilapidated towns and vast landscapes. Brought to life with organic instrumentation, cl-toned guitar, spacious drums and the smoky croon of Tessa Murray, the album unravels worlds beyond horizon.
Outrageous pop wit: Sylvie Kreusch
Based in Anvers, Sylvie Kreusch is a true European musician. She is known for her expressive lyricism and keen ear for both experimental and pop styles. Her music is commonly heard in the campaigns of the fashion world. She made her debut in the Belgian art rock scene of the past decade, playing with Soldier’s Heart and Warhaus. After her first EP, BADA BING BABA BOOM!, came Wild Love. In her latest work, Montbray, released in 2021, Kreusch opens the pandora’s box of heartbreak with coy curiosity. Named after an idyllic village in Normandy, Montbray navigates different wavelengths of Kate Bush’s colourful pop vision and subversive prose of Serge Gainsbourg.
It was a love at first sight when Istanbulites explored him at Salon: Emir Taha
Emerging on the global music scene, Emir Taha calls out to the world from his base in south London, successfully combining the sounds of Anatolia with alternative R&B and “leftfield” electronica. Emir Taha, 26, was born in Antalya. His early works pricked the ear of Turkish pop megastar Kenan Doğulu, who invited Emir to support him on tour and welcomed him into his studio. A year later, Emir moved to London for university and kept up music between his studies, performing at open-mic nights around the city. Hoppa, which he released in two parts, is the biggest reflection for now of Emir’s evocative style, his knack for a high-concept metaphor and the duality of his eastern heritage and western surroundings.
Justine Bourgeus’ R&B project Tsar B
Belgian DIY producer Justine Bourgeus’ R&B project Tsar B is often compared to FKA twigs, Azalia Banks and MIA. She performs “R&B as dark as the night” in her own words and puts every dance enthusiast from disco amateurs to professional choreographs in motion with her electronica-influenced, at times intense and aggressive synths, ornamented with Middle Eastern tunes. The video clip featuring the choreography of the celebrated choreographer and dance tutor Alexander Chung dedicated to her song “Escalate” got 20 million hits on Youtube. Having visited Salon for her first Turkey concert on the eve of her debut album The Games I Played, Tsar B is back with one of her mind-blowing performances.
For more information and to stay up to date, be sure to keep up with Salon IKSV. Tickets are available via Passo.
