Turkish Electronic Music: A New Breed of Artists

Turkey has an incredibly rich tradition in electronic music, stretching back to the late ‘50s and early ‘60s when Bülent Arel was king. Arel was a pioneer not just in the Turkish electronic music movement, but also greatly influenced the global one as a whole. His early electronic expressions while working at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Centre very much define the term experimental electronic music and his groundbreaking compositions were pivotal to later generations around the world.

These early experimentations in sound were continued and expanded upon during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s with the productions of İlhan Mimaroğlu, around the same time that the Anatolian Rock sound, or Turkish Psychedelia, which was heavily influenced by the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, began to take off.

These musical progressions began to see the marriage of experimental electronic sounds with traditional Anatolian folk rhythms, a current continued during the ‘90s and ‘00s by internationally recognized artists such as Baba Zula and Mercan Dede, whose pioneering compositions were heavily influenced by Sufism and mystical thought.

It comes as no surprise then that recent years have seen an explosion in the popularity of electronic music among Turks, with independent labels such as the Istanbul-based Tektosag Records providing a home for many young producers. This wave of popularity has inevitably resulted in an output of a whole host of forms of electronic music, including a swathe of bass music producers influenced by the early dubstep pioneers of South London.

Most notable of these producers pushing the darker bass sound is Emir Ongun, aka Gantz, a producer from Istanbul who has taken the dubstep scene by storm in recent years with his innovative productions immediately catching the attention of record label bosses. His first release to get signed onto a major record label was a 2 track single released in 2012 on UK experimental dubstep label Box Clever, entitled “No Faith” and “Catalyst“. Both tracks left fans speechless as a result of the quality of the sound design and the sheer creativity of the production; they instantly carved a niche for Gantz within the dubstep scene.

2012 also saw the beginning of Gantz’s involvement in the New Zealand-based imprint Innamind Recordings, recently voted best new record label in the 2013 Dubstep Forum Awards, which is widely considered to be one of the most authoritative voices within the dubstep scene. Unsurprisingly, the online poll decided by fans also saw Gantz place third in the best producer category, as well as a resounding first place for best new producer. His two vinyl releases on Innamind last year, including the weighty tracks “Stayer” and “Siyam“, proved to be a welcome injection of creativity and substance into the dubstep scene, which many fans felt had begun to stagnate.

The beginning of January 2014 saw Gantz reach new heights with a release on dubstep pioneer Mala’s Deep Medi Muzik imprint, widely regarded by fans as the best record label producing 140bpm bass music. The two-track single boasts the hard-hitting “Spry Sinister” and “Rising”, the latter of which is a spine-tingling symphony of deep sub-bass, traditional Anatolian melodies, haunting Turkish vocals, and Gantz’s signature syncopated percussion. All credit for this track shouldn’t go to Gantz, however, as it was a collaboration with another extremely talented producer: the Algerian-born and Istanbul-based El Mahdy Jr.

El Mahdy Jr, real name El-Mahdi Rezoug, is another producer from Istanbul who has caught the attention of electronic music fans, due to his immensely creative soundscapes influenced by his Middle Eastern heritage and upbringing in Istanbul. Boomarm Nation, an experimental electronic music label based out of Portland, Oregon, specializing in dub, reggae, sound system, and world music quickly snapped El Mahdy Jr up for an 8-track LP entitled The Spirit of Fucked Up Places, which found its way into record shops all over the world.

Tracks like “Zalim Delay” and “Gravity” epitomize how effortlessly El Mahdy Jr welds together sounds strongly influenced by the Turkish electronic music tradition, Anatolian Rock and traditional Rai Algerian folk music, to create eerie yet poignant tracks that resonate deeply. Boomarm Nation wasted no time in signing El Mahdy Jr up for a collaborative release which came out on 14 January. With an increasing discography of profoundly forward-thinking productions, El Mahdy Jr is certainly an artist for fans of deep spaced-out dub productions to keep their eyes on.

Another exciting electronic music producer from Istanbul is Baran Elitez, known as Ex Nihilo, who has a number of releases on international labels such as his Odium EP and Recoil EP, which blend influences ranging from dub techno to psychedelic trance, progressive house to UK garage, and everything in between. With airplay on Rinse FM, the home of UK underground electronic music over the airwaves, Ex Nihilo is another producer from Istanbul who looks set to have an exciting future ahead of him.

In a country and city with such a rich heritage in electronic music, it comes as no surprise that artists like Gantz, El Mahdy Jr, and Ex Nihilo have also achieved international recognition for their productions. Clubs in Istanbul such as Pixie Underground, located just off Istiklal Caddesi, – which has attracted legendary US dubstep DJ Joe Nice and New Zealand veteran duo Truth in recent months – continue to provide producers and DJs with a platform from which they can share their music. Istanbul producer Gantz already has multiple international performances and a US tour under his belt, and it may not be long before more of the new generation of Turkish electronic music producers find themselves with busy tour schedules the world over.

Here is a half-hour mix compiled by Gantz, showcasing the underground sounds of electronic music in Istanbul.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about Turkish electronic music, here are some other Istanbul producers to look into: Da Poet, Nodul, Dalt Wisney, Iskeletor, Psychomantis, Grup Ses Beats, and Warg. Happy listening!