Whenever a festival is announced, we usually take it upon ourselves to do a bit of investigative research of the performers. Not only does it help drum up some enthusiasm for a live music experience, but it also helps us stay up to date on what’s buzzing in the many various music circles that trend in Turkey these days. With electronic event organization Overdaze getting ready to put on their biggest event of the year thus far in Summerdaze at Phönix Park (Klein Phönix) on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 June, we thought we’d take a deep dive into the many performers playing this year.
For those needing a refresher, headliners include Tinlicker, Einmusik, Gheist, Goom Gum, Rafael Cerato, Stephan Jolk, Anatolian Sessions, Orkun Bozdemir, and Triart. Tickets are on sale now, available on both Biletino and Bugece.
And now… for our list:
Tinlicker
This should surprise nobody, as Tinlicker is the main headlining artist at this year’s Summerdaze Festival. The Dutch duo Micha Heyboer and Jordi van Achthoven have been making a mark on the electronic music scene since 2013, with a pedigree of production that extends long before forming Tinlicker. Boasting over six million monthly listeners, their hits include ‘Because You Move Me’, alongside dancefloor favorites that are deeper cuts than their ‘most played’. Their 2019 album was particularly noteworthy and shows their broad scope. It also happens to feature artists like alt-J and Thomas Oliver to great effect. They’re undoubtedly set to be the main attraction at this year’s festival.
Anatolian Sessions
Am of the belief that every festival that brings in international acts should do their best to complement those performers with local talents. Summerdaze delivers on this in full effect this year. Of particular note, Anatolian Sessions has been performing consistently throughout Turkey’s larger festivals since 2016 and manages to very much pay homage to the Anatolian roots that accompany his moniker. A quick listen through his catalogue offers a wide variety of electronic music that borrows on the rich cultural instrumentals of the region, while incorporating dancefloor suited melodies, and pulling in spiritual and ambient sounds to tie it all together.
Einmusik
Einmusik hails from Hamburg, Germany and boasts some of the most beloved melodic and open soundscape techno sounds on the international scene today. Looking back to his debut effort Ocean’s Bottom (2011), it’s clear that while the signature style remains an undercurrent of his discography, the course of Einmusik’s discography shows a real evolution to the talent he is today, filling dancehalls everywhere on his global adventures. The mid-2010s releases of 5 AM and I.D.C. gained him a true following, and releases like 2020’s To The Sea have garnered him millions of listens.
Stephan Jolk
This Milan-based DJ and producer brings his emotional techno to Istanbul for the second time this year, having put on a stellar performance here in February and generating quite a bit of buzz in the process. A relative newcomer to the industry, having dropped his first singles in 2019, Stephan leaped onto radars with his debut EP on Afterlife titled Analogy (2020), providing climactic techno soundscapes with a theatrical flourish. Continuing on this wave, fans are currently eagerly awaiting a full-length to be dropped and looking forward to what comes next.
Gheist
Gheist offer up some of the most compelling music in this year’s line-up for a number of reasons. First, the Berlin-based trio are a collaborative effort, bringing in a number of distinct influences into their group dynamic. With a clear background in music composition and classical education, their music will often build off a simple concept into grand, floating melodies capable of moving any dancefloor. Incorporating a number of instruments from drums and piano, to guitar and the less traditional, Gheist are also no strangers to featuring vocals on their tracks as well. With a number of particularly popular singles having been released in recent years, their debut album Zukunft also came out last year.
Tickets to this year’s Summerdaze Festival are on sale now, available on both Biletino and Bugece.
Images courtesy of the organizer.
