In a city buzzing with nightlife, the electronic music scene is a changing tapestry as the nightclubs of Istanbul past ebb and evolve into the latest hotspots, connecting the resident party crowd with the best in local and international talent. Today, RX Istanbul stands out as a reliable local venue for quality music experiences building on the long legacy of the venue they inhabit and the neighborhood that has played a central role in the city’s dynamic musical evolution. The past year is testament to this and has seen some exciting developments for the central electronic hub. Since opening last November as a full-on nightclub, RX – ‘Rhythm Xposure’ – has regularly hosted eminent local DJs including Ferhat Albayrak, Ugur Project, and Tangun, as well as major international artists like Nastia, Dubfire, Marcel Dettmann, Jeremy Olander, Radioslave, Cristoph, Mind Against, and Ilario Alicante. Now in partnership with Burn, the energy drink powering the summer Big Burn Festival and some of Istanbul’s finest electronic events throughout the year, RX continues to raise the standard in their music programming.
This past month alone, the club boasted an outstanding lineup of some of the best international talent across the house and techno spectrum while still showcasing some of the most established local DJs. Their proven consistency in maintaining a high caliber of music helps explain how RX has so rapidly evolved into one of the most reliable nightclubs for electronic music in Istanbul. An especially exciting artist to pass through the venue lately was John Digweed, who played on Friday, November 8th at RX before heading off for a Saturday show at Pixel in Ankara.
Appropriately, the description on the Burn event page read simply, ‘No introduction needed for this one!’, and for good reason. Over the past couple decades, the British DJ has earned his status as a legend of dance music culture with his groundbreaking contributions. His record label Bedrock, founded in the late 1990s in partnership with Nick Muir, goes beyond the bounds of production to serve as a platform for creative expression and is well-established within the genre as an indisputable mark of quality. But Digweed is perhaps especially known, worldwide, for his famed collaborations with the renowned Sasha (Alexander Coe), including the first commercial DJ mix compilation Rennaissance and holding residency at Twilo, the premier nightclub in NYC at the time.
As individuals, both Digweed and Sasha have enjoyed hugely successful careers, but the joining of the two forces back in the late 1990s is what really took electronic music to the next level and cemented their legacy as tastemakers in the history of progressive house. In the decade from 1998 to 2008, the duo was unstoppable, with both consistently featuring in that period among the top ten artists from DJ Mag – Digweed being voted world’s ‘Best DJ’ in 2001 following Sasha’s claiming of the title a year earlier. Both maintained solid standing in the world’s top five DJs well into the mid-2000s, meanwhile earning awards from numerous other prestigious bodies like it was going out of style (including a Grammy nomination for Sasha in 2005). Their steady stream of visionary sound and masterful mixing in the years since have earned the two ample recognition as pioneers of the genre, and their names have come to be synonymous with integrity and ingenuity in electronic music.
The announcement of Digweed’s appearance at RX was therefore a particularly eye-catching one. Established and widely known for his unpretentious mastery behind the decks and inventive sound, the legacy of Digweed and his integrity as an artist precede him as is apparent from the impressive profile of events and venues he’s played in the years since first coming to Turkey. Istanbul has long been a tour destination since at least as far back as 2006 when he played at Binbirdirek Sarnıcı (Cistern of Philoxenos) – now seeing a revival as a nightclub – back during its former prime as an electronic music venue in the mid-2000s. More recently, Digweed joined the likes of Bob Moses, Oliver Koletzki, and Sofi Tukker in headlining the 2016 Electronica Festival in Çeşme, and about this time last year he was back again for an event hosted at Klein, another popular nightclub known for its consistently superior music. While RX may be relatively smaller than some previous venues he’s played, Digweed’s latest show there, beyond delivering on the characteristic sound we’ve come to expect from such a master, speaks to the ethos of the space as a solid local nightclub for a true electronic underground experience.
But Digweed was only the beginning in terms of the music on at RX this month as, in true Burn fashion, November’s lineup featured name after name of top international artists on the Istanbul circuit. The Saturday following Digweed brought an all-night-long edition of Victor Ruiz, another long-established techno titan, with his new “Oblivion” concept formulated as ‘a journey to an unconscious state of mind’. Keeping up the momentum, RX also hosted this month the cerebral Patrice Bäumel, a forward-thinking artist with releases on 30+ of the world’s best electronic labels including Kompakt, Crosstown Rebels, and Anjunadeep, as well as Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann. To close out November, the venue welcomed the classically-trained Francesca Lombardo, a familiar face from some of the world’s most superlative events, including Burning Man, Tomorrowland, and Get Lost, and whose latest appearance in Istanbul was, naturally, at the most recent edition of Big Burn. From start to finish, the music at RX doesn’t miss a beat, a pattern sure to continue given their strong organizational backing.
After a few visits, it’s no wonder that RX has become such a popular nightlife destination. Its central location, just a short walk down from Taksim Square, makes it easily accessible, and the layout of the place itself is well-suited for an authentic underground electronic experience. With a slightly-elevated stage against the back wall and chill spaces situated in the corners of the room, most of the space is designated dancefloor, which together with the quality soundsystem and decidedly minimalist décor aesthetic make for an intimate setting to enjoy the high-caliber music on offer. And it’s the music that really takes center stage – as has always been the case at the venue. This season’s lineup alone speaks to the standard that has come to define the place as an electronic music venue. Though the past several years have seen an unfortunate erosion of the lively buzz that once characterized Taksim as an entertainment district, the area is still home to some of the city’s best nightclubs, and for those seeking proper ‘rhythm xposure’, RX is a solid choice.
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Images courtesy of RX Istanbul.
