Can you tell us a bit about this track?

Elif Soğuksu: Currently, I’m working on a master’s thesis about the agency of the voice in electroacoustic music. I’m questioning the abstraction of the voice as a conceptual framework–mainly exploring the compositional use of voice in electroacoustic music, algorithmic composition, and live performance. This track is one of the results of an ongoing exploration of these notions I just mentioned. The occurrence of the voice in electroacoustic music might entangle our perception to unscramble the meaning of these vocal utterances. Our ears are usually drawn to it, even particular areas in our brain are dedicated to processing the vocal sound. How can we approach and listen to vocalic sounds differently in compositional thinking, how can we transform the experience of the voice? This piece explores the relationship between our perceptual sensitivity and internalization of vocal utterances and sound forces/movements. It fluctuates between what is vocal and what is not–it weaves an ambivalent and intimate space of vocal and vocal-like sounds into an abstraction. It invokes an eerie experience where our bodily responses to the sounds are excited by the vocal forces.

What is the scene like in Turkey?

I was born and raised in Istanbul and also did my bachelor’s studies in music there. Right after finishing my studies, I moved to the Netherlands to pursue my masters studies. Despite growing up and being nourished in such a culturally rich place, there were many difficulties in trying to become an artist–not only as an artist but as a young person amongst political and economic conflicts happening in Turkey. I started to melt more into the Istanbul artist community and get to know this extremely diverse and eclectic music scene when I was in my first year of my studies–even though, at the time, many life-threatening incidents were happening in Istanbul. We were hesitant and scared to go out and blend in the crowd. Later, we went through the pandemic conditions, and our struggles sharpened–we are still recovering from that last stroke.

Though we have faced many battles here, the scene in Istanbul is still very exciting, a melting pot of different expressions–ranging from rap to experimental, club culture to jazz, and Turkish/Middle Eastern traditional music to punk. I’m so grateful to have been exposed to this diversity, not only the music, but also the people. Istanbul has a fascinating queer community which I’m very proud of. It’s very unapologetic, confrontational, exciting, and risk-taking. In our culture, the notion of family and community is very important and we all have been brought up in that manner. So I can say that for me “the scene” means family and community, a safe space to exchange cultures.

We bring our spices, elements, and power to push the scene forward and to find new ways of making music. We resist together; even the ones, including me, who are residing in a different country, we seek and feel longing for the moments to gather and experience this vibrant city together. However, I feel that I’m part of several scenes at the moment, I have several homes and communities. I was introduced to the experimental, DIY, and sound art community in Berlin three years ago when I lived there, and I got so fascinated by the expressions of the people. Later, I moved to Den Haag and there I found another belonging; I became part of the electroacoustic and computer music scene with which I have been mostly dealing since my bachelor studies.

How does the scene affect your process?

It might sound cliché, but in terms of Istanbul, there are many musical elements to absorb and integrate into my artistic process, thanks to its genre/culture-blending aspect. Yesterday, I was recording a track that was more in the computer music category, but included scream vocals and deconstructed/distorted beats. Abruptly, I had the urge to pick up my father’s oud and record some tunes from there. It is not just about that whole concept of “blending West and East,” it’s more about the fact that we are surrounded by a variety of musical styles in our everyday life. It’s so diverse; whether we want it or not, it reflects in our musicality, I believe! These days, since I’m studying in the Netherlands, I’m surrounded by an international artist scene and luckily I get to know about interesting music scenes in different countries that I have never encountered in my life. Before moving here, I had no idea about the experimental and underground scenes in the Baltics, Iceland, Central Europe, East and South Asia, Balkans, etc. I’m very glad and lucky to have such enthusiastic friends from different parts of the globe.

What are some of your influences?

Oh, this is an uneasy question to answer since they are so multidimensional and intertwined. To simplify, I enjoy listening; I get so excited and influenced a lot by listening to music. This situation of listening can be broadened in many ways in different settings, such as listening to music alone at home, listening to a friend, listening to music at a concert, or a friend performing in a concert, or listening to a colleague talking about their artistic approaches. Traveling and meeting new people, and experiencing

different underground venues are big sources of inspiration and motivation for me.

Besides that, I read a lot, and I like to watch documentaries about music, or I like to dig into the Internet and find undiscovered gems and read those artists’ interviews. I also really enjoy researching, contemplating certain concepts and inquiries, and later elaborating and theorizing about them. Especially when those concepts are about sound studies, I get even more excited and influenced to integrate them into my musical practices.

Anything else you want to add?

I want to shout out to Eylül (sunfear) who has been working a lot in the realization of this compilation. Many, many thanks to everyone who participated and contributed their music to help introduce the scene in Istanbul.

Interview: Elif Soğuksu

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Interview: Elif Soğuksu