In a dimly lit club somewhere in Berlin, a masked figure begins to strum a bağlama. The delicate strings give way to a surge of acid-laden modular synth, and the room explodes into motion. This isIstanbul Ghetto Club (IGC)—an enigmatic collective that has redefined what it means to fuse tradition and modernity, East and West, the underground and the zeitgeist. It is a unique sound that will come to Bucharest when Istanbul Ghetto Club takes the reigns of Control Club on Friday, January 31.
Friday, January 31, 2025
NIGHTSACIDAVANT-GARDEELECTRONIC
ctrl NIGHTS: Istanbul Ghetto Club [DE], Mini Zuchinni & Mitsubitchi, New Disorder
IGC is a multidisciplinary art project, an act of rebellion, and a celebration of contradiction. Emerging from Berlin’s globally renowned scene, IGC blurs the lines between club culture and cultural commentary at the intersection of sound, performance art, and new media. Through their self-coined genre, "Anatolian Acid," the ancient melodies of Anatolia, Greece, and Mesopotamia are reborn, tangled in the sinewy tendrils of modular synths and electronic beats.
Their origins read like an indie film. Kamil, a bağlama player, was performing in a pavyon—a traditional Turkish live music bar—when Mahmut, an outsider whose presence seemed incongruous in the space, entered. Tensions escalated, as these spaces often serve as microcosms of larger societal divides, and the two were thrown out after a brief altercation with other patrons. Nursing a broken nose and a destroyed bağlama over a bowl of çorba, Kamil and Mahmut hatched the idea for what would become Istanbul Ghetto Club.
The group operates anonymously, donning masks and veils in its performances. For IGC, anonymity allows the art to maintain focus, free from ego and identity. This ethos aligns with its broader artistic mission: dismantling societal binaries and creating a space where contradictions coexist harmoniously.
Their live performances have become legendary, described by some as "Eastern rave punk" and by others as immersive theater. Each show collides sound, light, non-linear storytelling and motion. One moment, the room might be bathed in mournful saz; the next, it erupts into a cacophony of pounding basslines and kaleidoscopic visuals with humor as constant threads, daring the audience to leave their inhibitions at the door.
IGC’s rise has also been fueled by their knack for crossing across cultural and digital landscapes. As for HOR, their live sets have garnered millions of views. Curated like a gallery exhibit, their Instagram also extends their sensory performances into the virtual realm through color, texture, and masks.
In 2021, the group was awarded a tandem residency in Berlin and Tel Aviv. There, they collaborated with Teddy Neguse, an artist known for his genre-defying work. The residency culminated in a live show at Berlin’s Pop-Kultur Festival and Tel Aviv’s Kuli Alma Club. In parallel, they also began curating their interdisciplinary label,POSTKLUB. Its roster includes Dengue Dengue Dengue, Nene H, KEENE, DJ Emerson, and SADO OPERA, among others.
As they prepare their imminent debut album and take their ever-evolving live show to new audiences, Istanbul Ghetto Club is now a movement, a statement, and, perhaps, a question: What happens when we allow the past and the present, the familiar and the foreign, the sacred and the profane to collide?
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