Gezgin Salon took off in 2017 when Salon İKSV decided to grew out of its walls. Among the numerous bands that were hosted in unique locations around the city in the first three editions were Agar Agar, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Wolf Alice, Amyl and the Sniffers, Kiasmos, Pantha du Prince, Polynation and Pional.
Now is the time for another one-day festival! Gezgin Salon will be hosting one of the most anticipated names of contemporary music in Turkey, a figure who is expected to leave its mark on the year 2019. One of the most unprecedented indie rock stars, Mac DeMarco will salute his fans on 30 November at Volkswagen Arena under the sponsorship of Birlikte Güzel.
It is merely enough to describe him as a Canadian singer, songwriter, producer… Mac DeMarco is more than the sum of his songs and albums. He is a profile that twisted the fate of indie rock in the 2010’s when everybody believed it has been going through a decline after its heydays in the 2000’s. His funny, reckless and care-free attitude makes him one of a kind. We know his songs by heart, play his songs on repeat, watch his videos the moment they are released and impatiently wait for his next step.
His music, self-described as “jizz jazz”, takes a very different turn compared to his counterparts despite sheltering influences of indie rock, lo-fi, psychedelic pop and soft rock. His most recent album Here Comes the Cowboy followed Rock and Roll Night Club, 2, Salad Days, Another One and This Old Dog that shook the music charts all through 2017. For now, Here Comes the Cowboy is the most refined product of his musicality that gets deeper with every step despite the growing effortless feel. Chamber of Reflection, My Kind of Woman, Cooking Up Something Good, Freaking Out the Neighborhood, Nobody, Salad Days and Ode to Viceroy have already become indie rock classics that we surely will listen to with the same pleasure and feelings after ten years have passed. It would be unfair to skip mentioning his live performances where he absolutely cuts a rug on stage. Get ready for the final concert of Mac DeMarco’s European tour in the scope of Birlikte Güzel: Gezgin Salon.
Salon İKSV in November
Embracing a variety of musicians and music genres from all around the world, Salon İKSV presents an exciting programme as it turns 10 years old, keeping you busy with good music throughout the year. Buckle up for unique discoveries at Salon at its new season.
The artists to take the stage in November at Salon include Lalalar, Pyrit, Makaya McCraven, Helado Negro, Fabrizio Paterlini, and Zola Blood.
Lalalar / Friday, 1 November, 22.00
Founded by Ali Güçlü Şimşek, Barlas Tan Özemek and Kaan Düzarat, the three names that we came to know and love with their solo or other collective projects, Lalalar’s music is full of electronic beats with references to psychedelia and Anatolia They drew nation-wide as well as international attention with their first EP İsyanlar that was released past February. The first song that we grew even more familiar after hearing the sample of Cahit Oben’s soundtrack for the film ‘Canım Kardeşim’, was followed by the second EP Mecnun’dan Beter Haldeyim. The major commonality between the two songs was the irresistible progression of strong bass and electronic beats. It is impossible not to dance to Ali Güçlü Şimşek’s accentuated vocals, Barlas Tan Özemek’s solid guitar tunes and Kaan Düzarat’s masterful beats. The new Lalalar songs that we cannot wait to listen and dance to will be the highlights of the trio’s first Salon İKSV concert on 1 November.
Pyrit / Saturday, 2 November, 22.30
Swiss musician and actor Thomas Kuratli’s electronic music project Pyrit has layers deep enough to pull listeners in. Following his graduation from the Zurich Film Academy, Thomas Kuratli immediately moved from Switzerland to Paris. Pyrit’s beginnings go back to a small apartment on the basement floor. “Desires, questions and anxiety” are the words Thomas Kuratli uses to describe his music. “Cosmic desert music” is how he chooses to define it when a single definition is required. Even though his first album Ufo, released in 2015, leans towards electronica, it was heavily influenced by the mechanical nature of krautrock. This extremely personal album was designed as the soundtrack of an imaginary movie. Last year, we witnessed Pyrit’s story mature and deepen. While the first album Ufo was the representation of the mechanisation of a human being, in the second album, Control, we are trapped in the machine. The ghosts of David Lynch, Portishead and The Haxan Cloak inhabit Control. It is a recording with extremely high emotional intelligence that also happens to be exceedingly chaotic. Meanwhile, Kuratli’s acting career is advancing in proportion to his musical career. You can see Pyrit playing the DJ on the episode Desperate Times in award-winning series Killing Eve produced by the celebrated Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Thomas Kuratli’s electronic music project Pyrit will be at Salon İKSV on 2 November.
Helado Negro / Sunday, 3 November, 20.00
Ecuadorian singer, songwriter and producer Roberto Carlos Lange nurtures his Ecuadorian roots with the inspiration he has drawn from the music he listened to while growing up in Florida. Before his Helado Negro career, which has been going on since 2009, he took part in projects including ROM, Epstein and Boom & Birds. Lange has used Latin, folk, jazz and electronic elements in his first Helado Negro album, Awe Owe, produced after his move to New York. Following the release of his album Canta Lechuza, recorded in a cabin in Connecticut in 2011, he released another album as OMBRE, his project with Julianna Barwick. He went back to his Helado Negro moniker with his 2014 album, Double Youth. This album was inspired by a poster he had since childhood and found in a wardrobe years later. Lange has collaborated with names ranging from Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab and Mikael Jorgensen from Wilco for his series Island Universe Story, first published in 2012 with the fourth instalment released in 2018. His album carrying traces of Latin music of the ‘70s, soul, and dub, Private Energy, was released in 2016. Helado Negro‘s latest album, made our eyes sparkle and ears rejoice in the exquisite indie-pop feast that is his album, This Is How You Smile, released this year. It could be considered the peak of his career so far and has already been named among the best albums of 2019. The musician creates an atmosphere with pop and electronic music foundations that you will never want to leave. Helado Negro will be visiting Istanbul for the first time for one of the most distinctive concerts in Salon İKSV‘s 10th year programme on 3 November.
Fabrizio Paterlini / Wednesday – Thursday , 6 – 7 November, 21.30
The Italian musician and contemporary classical music composer Fabrizio Paterlini describes piano as the “instrument he can best express his inner world”. He has been working in different disciplines since the 90s, he has a quality of evolving and developing as he creates. 2006 may be considered a turning point in his career which he had started with progressive rock compositions. He released his first solo piano album Viaggi in Aeromobile in 2007 from his self-titled record company and has since released at least one album a year for his audience. Another turning point in Paterlini’s career took place with his 2013 album Now. He started embracing electronic foundations with Now. The album Paterlini released one year later, The Art of Piano, has been described as “a true piano masterpiece”. He changed his formula once again with his 2017 album, Secret Book. The synergy of the strings, piano and electronic foundations resulted in the most sophisticated Fabrizio Paterlini album to that day. The year 2018 brought us Winter Stories which heralded his return to the solo piano following a four-year break. The Italian pianist will be presenting us a five-star musical feast with two consecutive nights of music on 6 and 7 November at Salon İKSV.
Hedonutopia “ARZU UTOPYASI” First Concert / Friday, 8 November, 22.00
One of the most exciting names of the local alternative scene Hedonutopia was formed in İzmir in 2008. They won the first prize at Radyo Boğaziçi’s Battle of the Bands in 2016. People who listened to the band for the first time couldn’t help but ask themselves why in the world they deprived their ears of this music before. Blending rock, electronica and ‘90s shoegaze, their sound connotes those of the defining bands of music history, such as Radiohead, Dead Can Dance, Sigur Rós, and The Cure. Their musical style sticks out with its uniqueness in the local scene. Their slow and steady approach to music has finally paid off with their 2016 debut album Ucube Dizayn (Freaky Design) and their surprise sophomore effort Yarı Cennet (Half a Heaven) in 2017 announced them as a force to be reckoned with. They performed at many prestigious venues and festivals of the country. They released their third and most recent album Yakamoz Sandalı (Sea Sparkle Boat) on 23 November, preserving their an-album-every-year rhythm. Now they will perform their new songs from their fourth and brand new album ARZU UTOPYASI for the first time at Salon İKSV on 8 November.
Makaya McCraven / Friday – Saturday, 15 – 16 November, 21.30
Producer, composer and drummer who un-restricts the limits of neo-jazz and blurs the boundaries between jazz and electronic music Makaya McCraven was born in Paris as a child of a jazz drummer father and a folk singer mother. In 2007 he moved to Chicago where he was surrounded by jazz legends such as Archie Shepp, Marion Brown and Yusef Lateef. Thus, while creating his musical identity, he did not have any problems finding sources of inspiration. He was already making his mark on the Chicago music scene. In 2012, he released his first album, Split Decision, and drew worldwide attention. The Los Angeles Times listed McCraven’s second album, In the Moment, as one of the must-hear jazz albums of 2015, while Billboard named it among the top five jazz albums of the year. With his hip-hop, African dance music and indie-rock infused sound, he was met with definitions like “not the kind of jazz drummer you meet every day”. McCraven, perhaps the most popular beat magician of the last period, or even a “beat professor” as many have called him, released Highly Rare in 2017, followed by a mixtape named Where We Come From with contributing names such as Nubya Garcia, Kamaal Williams, Lefto and Soweto Kinch, creating a beautiful jazz bridge between London and Chicago in the process. This mixtape wasn’t the last step of 2018 for the highly talented Makaya McCraven. Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Tomeka Reid, Anna Butterss, Jeff Parker, Dezron Douglas and many more contributed to Universal Beings, recorded in New York, Chicago, London and Los Angeles and released during the same year. We met McCraven at Salon in 2017 and he has recently performed on the same night as Jacob Collier as part of the 26th Istanbul Jazz Festival. Get ready for a new generation jazz adventure two nights in a row with Makaya McCraven on 15 and 16 November at Salon İKSV.
Birlikte Güzel: Zola Blood / Friday, 29 November, 22.00
An electronica marvel hailing from East London’s Hackney Wick, Zola Blood’sstory Wick began in 2013, and they attracted attention with the speed of light thanks to only a few demos. The iconic group Talk Talk’s manager, Keith Aspden, was impressed by Zola Blood and quickly signed an album deal. With the successive singles Grace and Meridian, they garnered interest from electronic music blogs and listeners worldwide. Recorded in a windowless room with only four walls, these tracks both reached number one on the Hype Machine chart. Their momentum caught the attention of Lauren Laverne, the world-renowned DJ of BBC Radio 6 Music. The release of their second EP Play Out/Pieces of the Day, which enriched their electronics with minimal techno touches, lead to even greater expectations for their first album. This expectation was more than fulfilled with the release of their self-published first album, Infinite Games, in 2017. Electronica marvels such as The Only Thing, Infinite Games and Heartbeat have gained Zola Blood a fan base in Turkey as well. Zola Blood will be at Salon for their first concert in Turkey on 29 November.
Tickets for Salon İKSV can be purchased from Biletix sales channels and the box office at İKSV (without service charge, every day, except for Sundays, between 10.00-18.00).
Garanti BBVA Concerts, sponsored by Garanti BBVA, meet the audience once again at the new season of Salon İKSV.
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