I am from Istanbul and Istanbul has a special place in my heart. I wanted this playlist to show a different side of Istanbul, the side that doesn’t make it to the headlines. This playlist contains artists that might not be originally from Istanbul, but Istanbul is the place they have chosen to depict within their videos.

The artists I chose to involve in this playlist are a valuable part of the Istanbul underground ecosystem. I believe they deserve to represent Istanbul underground, even if some of the videos are professional and some are DIY. Finally, I think an underground scene can only really be understood by seeing a live video, which is why I have chosen to also include Glabrezu’s live performance.

Artist: Kaptan Kadavra
Track: Sert Cisim (Türkiye, 2023)
Director: Tuğçe Kep

I I wanted to start with this video because it represents Istanbul underground with its locations, music, and life in general. Kaptan Kadavra is originally from Ankara (the capital of Türkiye), but after two members of the band moved to Istanbul, they decided to shoot the music video there instead. The music video takes place in Kadıköy, which for me remains the heart of Istanbul underground. It is possible to see a lot of familiar places if you spend enough time in Kadıköy and you are a metalhead. The video begins with Oset Kankoç, the vocalist, passing through Karga (an important live music venue for the underground scene), Wizard Pub (metalhead hub), Caferağa stairs (a place where people get together and drink), and the last shot is at Kalamış Beach, near the skate park.

The parts of the music video that take place inside are filmed at the storage room of Wizard Pub. As some may know, Istanbul is famous for its stray animals, so we see cats and a dog in the video as well. We see Ayhan Karaca, the tattoo artist from Blackbird, Istanbul (known in the underground scene), as one of the characters at 02:30, and we also see Melis Çınar Ayaz and Anıl Özbek (Kaptan Kadavra’s guitarist) throughout the music video as well. We see graffiti, street art, and beers – our everyday surroundings in Kadıköy.

Artist: Parya x Rinxlaya
Track: ellikuruş (Türkiye, 2023)
Director: Karatepeler

«Ellikuruş» is political, to say the least, and it aims to show the duality of Türkiye. As Istanbul is the literal bridge between West and East, I think this music video is a good representation of Istanbul. Parya and Rinxlaya are two underground rappers collaborating on a joint album. The video for «Ellikuruş» takes place in Büyükada, one of the Princes’ Islands of Istanbul. The costumes of the dancers represent religious clothing, and they have Turkish lace on their faces. The person in the middle of the dancers is a transgender individual, Gece, someone who is active in the underground scene. It can be argued that the dancers represent tradition, while Gece represents the present.

The name of the song «ellikuruş» means 50 cents in Turkish. In the music video, we see some footage from Türkiye: people running to get cheap stuff from a shop, people cramming to fit onto public transportation, a demonstration by conservative people, a banner that says «LGBT is moral terrorism» at 01:43, parliament members at 02:02, people trying to get to the food at 02:37, and Erdogan drinking ayran1 at 02:40. In the chorus of the song, Rinxlaya says «50 cent apocalypse».

Artist: Glabrezu
Track: Gavat (Türkiye, 2022)

This is one of my favorite ever live videos, having actually been present at this concert. Glabrezu is a grindcore, crust punk band originating from Eskişehir – however, this is live footage from Istanbul. One of their members is Ayhan Karaca, the tattoo artist we saw in Kaptan Kadavra’s music video. This video in particular demonstrates what the Istanbul underground scene is like at live shows. The people scream with the vocalist, they mosh, and they co-exist. No matter where anyone comes from or what their background is, they will exist together at the concert as though they are the same. This concert takes place at Woodstock Kadıköy, a live music venue that is literally underground. They host live shows from the underground scene.

Artist: pembe
Track: Ama Kalbim Bir Et Parçası Değil (Türkiye, 2021)
Director: Mutlu Oral

Pembe is an emo/screamo band from Istanbul. The «Ama Kalbim Bir Et Parçası Değil» (But My Heart Is not a Piece of Meat) music video mainly takes place at Kalamış Beach. Starting at the skate park, and featuring some shots from Validebağ Grove, we see seagulls, a stray cat, and the Marmara Sea, which are all deeply associated with Istanbul. When watching this music video, I feel like we’re watching a depressed individual living their everyday life – performing activities that would normally bring joy, but instead, they mainly stay numb.

Artist: sorrynobody
Track: 91bpm (Türkiye, 2023)
Director: Batuhan Erdağ

sorrynobody is a new duo formed in Istanbul. They bring in young blood to the underground hip hop and hyper pop scenes. This music video takes place on the backstreets of Istanbul, which are not pretty to look at, in more economically challenged locations. The chorus of «91bpm» is «My neighborhood, my home is my only concern». sorrynobody’s narrative focuses mainly on the hood and their neighbors. Our neighborhoods and neighbors are very important for us Turkish people.

Turkish people often like to identify themselves with the neighborhoods they come from, and they have certain characteristics that are associated with those neighborhoods. For example, the Moda neighborhood is known for its hipsters and its creative people. If someone says «I’m from Moda», everyone will assume they are rich and/or creative.

• 1. Ayran is a Turkish yogurt drink.