Dear Readers,
It’s the first day of the month, the time our friend cizenbayan shares her live music picks with you. Be sure to listen to the featured artists on the Canım Istanbul SoundCloud. Enjoy!
While unfortunate events have taken this country and the world by storm, we turn to music to keep our sanity in check. It looks like we have no other cure. Those who are behind these events are people who have never danced. Being with music and feeling good is our right. So let’s see what’s up in the city this month.
On Friday, April 1st, VeYasin, also known as Hey Douglas, will be at garajistanbul with 70s psychedelic and funk rhythms, with a performance that will surely make the audience dance, dance, dance. The same stage will host legendary band Duman’s vocalist Kaan Tangöze with his solo album on April 2nd.
Oceanvs Orientalis, who has become a source of national pride with their international festival participation and rise to fame, and Hello Alien will be at Kloster’s terrace on Saturday, April 2nd with those who love to dance. The same night techno central Germany’s talented producer DJ Koze will be at the Babylon Bomonti stage as Red Bull Music Academy’s guest. The host will be Tufan Demir. Also on April 2nd, cue istiklal will have Marc de Pulse and Jonas Saalbach behind the DJ cabin as part of Einmusika Showcase.
If you love Sunday afternoon parties and coffee, be at Brew Lab Galatasaray at 3pm on Sunday, April 3rd. Good music hunter Rave Mag and the Now team, who have introduced an innovative party concept to the city, have been collaborating for over year with the weekly Sunday Bean Beat Bite parties. There is no entrance fee but lots of caffeine, good music, good conversation and dance is guaranteed. DJs are yet to be announced but check out Now and Ravemag’s Facebook pages to be the first to know.
We love the north, Iceland, and music. Olof Arnalds, who was part of the much loved Icelandic indie band Mum for five years, has taken the solo route and will be at Babylon Bomonti on April 6th. Gevende is one of the best names in the Turkish alternative music scene, known for their calm tone and small number of live performances, will take the Babylon Bomonti stage on April 7th. Their acoustic concert at the St. Antoine church was very much talked about so they will surely fill up Babylon Bomonti. If you want in, hurry with the tickets.
Those who want to dance until the morning should head to Kloster on Friday, April 8th with German/Turkish DJ Butch in charge. The next night Berliner producer and DJ Claptone will be at Kloster.
Your hangover cure for Sunday, April 10th is the grande-size Bean Beat Bite party at Studio Kein on Sıraselviler.
Another cold country whose music we love is Canada. Post punk band Ought will be at the Salon stage on April 14th with indie rock melodies and guitar sounds untouched by synth.
Red Bull Anadolu Break, which has merged break dance with Turkish folkloric dances, sold out on their first tour. Now they are ready to meet the audience again and will be taking the stage on Thursday, April 14th at the Haliç Kongre Merkezi. Hurry before the tickets run out.
Photo by Muhsin Akgün
That same night, Zorlu PSM will host the legendary Enrico Macias. Those who want some nostalgia shouldn’t miss out.
I will be at Coachella on 15-16-17 April but I can’t say that I won’t be thinking about Istanbul. Some great events will be taking place on April 15 and 16. Send me a snap or a recording if you go!
Friday the 15th offers many alternatives: our national pride The Ringo Jets will be at Salon with those who love rock’n roll. That same night, Stavroz will be at Babylon Bomonti with their rich music, live performance, and endless dancing. The 15th will also see Richard Dorfmeister at Klein and Rodriguez JR at indigo as part of the XJazz Istanbul Festival. The warm up and after show at indigo is in the hands of YANG and Agahuz.
Büyük Ev Ablukada will be at Volksvagen Arena on Saturday, April 16th with their Fırtınayt concept, with various surprises promised to take place. Palmiyeler and Gözyaşı Çetesi will open the night.
Salon loves northern rhythms as much as we do and they are hosting Danish indie-pop artist Fallulah on Saturday, April 16th. The same night Rey and Kjavik of Katermukke will be at indigo with their eclectic style and the hosts will be Sertaç Kazan, Lilly and Ah Gülnihal. The performance that I’m most upset about missing that night will take place at garajistanbul with the FG Didital presentation: David Mayer, who we’ve been looking forward to seeing live again after Çeşme Electronica, the very creative German producer Rampue with utterly unique works, and Turkey’s own Oceanvs Orientalis who has made us proud with appearances at such festivals like Burning Man and Fusion will surely make a great night. I’m not done yet! That same night Christian Prommer and Kelvin Sholar will be at cue istiklal as part of XJazz. I hope that you make the best of the weekend of the 15th in Istanbul and that the weekend turns out to be worry-free.
For those of you old enough to remember “La Haine”, a great French movie from 1995 about three guys from the Paris suburbs’ projects, you should mark April 20th on your calendar: Asian Dub Foundation, who appeared on the original score of the movie, will be playing their mix of funk, rap, afrobeat, reggae and punk for a special performance at Babylon Bomonti to celebrate La Haine’s 20th anniversary. No doubt they will light the house on fire!
One of dubstep’s most dynamic names, Flux Pavilion will be at Babylon Bomonti, so make sure you put on your dancing shoes and quick-dry t-shirts on April 22nd. Those looking for a calmer night can head to Salon for a night with Germany’s indie contribution to the music scene Get Well Soon. Famous Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf’s nephew, trumpet virtuoso Ibrahim Maalouf amazes his audience each time with a musical journey that is unmatched and his performances are always sold out. He will be at Volkswagen Arena on April 23rd so if you haven’t seen him live yet, make sure you go. If you’ve seen him live, I’m guessing you already have your tickets.
Photo by Denis Rouvre
Salon knows we need a dose of northern sounds on a weekly basis and it intends to fill that need on April 29th with Iceland’s trip-hop band Bang Gang. That same night, Dirty Doering, Sascha Braemer, Nicone and Britta Arnold will be at Kloster as part of Berlin’s musical entity and record label Kattermukke Nacht’s showcase.
See you again in a month with the news of May’s events!
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You can listen to our April concert playlist here.
