The beautiful country of the Republic of Turkey may seem like an unlikely place for house music to emerge. The Eurasian territory has forever been divided between being an Islamic State or a European one and there has been no conclusion. Turkey 's precise location has it set up for a beautiful clash of the European and the Middle Eastern culture and it resonates amazingly into the the outcome : amazing music.
My muse for the journey into Turkey is Emir Hazir. A techno-loving DJ and Producer from the city of Ankara, located in the West. His music is a grind and mixture of many different genres from minimal to progressive and he continues to thrive in the underground creating unfathomable beats.
" I grew up listening to only the Turkish folk music my Mother used to listen to. There was nothing more to that. As I got older , obviously my tastes expanded to techno. I try to listen to every kind of music if I feel the need. But techno never dies.", Emir said.
Techno itself is something that belongs to the true underground in Turkey. Trance is the far more favourable genre. However with the emergence of DJ's and Producers like Sertac Kaya (who happens to be from Ankara as well) the scene is changing, and house music is gaining some more ground.
" My first professional gig ever was at Sunset Club ! It was in 2004 , the summer season. I'm lucky I grew up in a great city with lots of clubs. Before that I did some gigs as a non-professional at Fontana Loop Beach Club in Izmir and Fink Club in Bodrum, Turkey."
Emir Hazir has been inspired by some phenomenal acts such as Phunk Investigation ,Niederflur,Marco Carola,Dole & Kom,Paul Kalkbrenner,Kintar,Dom Kane and Onur Ozer. These influences resonate through his music through and through.
"I believe that nearly every event in daily life can be an inspiration because sometimes, every emotion, including sadness to anger, happiness and surprise- for me, music can activate."
Hazir has been running into some trouble lately because of the internet "demo thieves". Thus, he wont be releasing any of his demo material online. He has just completed some great music which is under review by some great music production companies. It's all a secret at the moment.I guess we will have to wait to find out! The Turkish house music scene is in for something massive!
To hear some of Emir's fantastic beats , check out: SoundCloud : Emir Hazir
Ash
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