Club Furies

Yedikule Fortress (Turkish: Yedikule Hisarı or Yedikule Zindanları; meaning Seven Towers Fortress) is a historic fortified structure located in the Yedikule quarter of Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey. It was built in 1458 on the commission of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. The fortress became known as the home of a formidable royal dungeon that housed notable figures throughout its history, and the associated intrigue captured the public imagination over the centuries in various legends, stories, and the arts.

It is in Yedikule Hisarı that Alt Orient presents its next release. The Levant-based Spanish record label, established in 2016 to create a home for West Asian and African alternative electronic music continues its journey. This time it presents Netam, the Turkish artist who commands attention with his extraordinary arrangements that embrace the ever-changing and evolving structure of music. His musical output is characterized as intergeneric, mixing organic instruments and synthesizers with recorded/captured sounds of everyday life.

Netam performs his arrangements with live instruments, such as keyboards and trumpets, while translating his feelings into electro-funky grooves in an ambient and emotional way. Alt Orient is pleased to announce the release of Netam’s debut live album. The first in the Alt Orient Live Session series, a series of live audio and video releases recorded at the iconic Yedikule Fortress in the heart of Istanbul, directed by Motifand produced by Dünyadan Sesler.

Netam‘s music is a captivating blend of electronic beats and futuristic Anatolian melodies. His live performances are a spectacle, showcasing his talents not only as an electronic musician but also as a keyboardist, synthesizer wizard, and trumpeter. His sound design, rich in psychedelic textures, creates an immersive experience that leaves a lasting impression on all who hear it. His music is melodically rich and incredibly relaxing, open to listen to throughout the day, whetting your appetite for life and his seamless transitions from one song to the next are nothing short of masterful.

Between panoramic views of the fortress and the instruments surrounding Netam, and ambient sounds that cover everything with expectation, the trumpet breaks the air and halo of mystery. An introduction of its own that then gives way to the electricity and electronics of the other instruments, whose circuits and interactions with each other draw us right into the sound. And again, after a rhythmic peak, the fortress becomes one in the distance, and Netam dances warmly.

Between fresh, well-shaped sounds and an agile interpretation of the instruments, as well as a confident staging, Netam continues their live performance. And from there to the epoché, to the suspension of everything that surrounds us; to the full immersion of the trumpet, which progressively leaves the sound in silence, and at the same time acts as a transistor towards new sounds.

The sound becomes so abrasive that the fortress is lost in latent shadows, whose side is lost in the horizon of probabilities. It is the sound and the looseness of Netam that becomes the focus of attention. Place and space are suspended in the unobserved void. While the waves of sound from the trumpet, the keyboards, and the array of machines become the whole, immersed in the darkness of the fortress tower, and the shadows surrounding the stage.

At the climax of this live show, the warm-up sound we started with transitions to its next stage. Between electrifying sounds that immediately activate us, and vocals as fine as they are enchanting, the sound projects simultaneous parallel correlates: between the immersive idyll of attentive listening and the sensual dance between those present – whether at a distance or in co-presence. Lulled in the first half hour by Netam‘s concentration on his interpretation, the lightening of the body, and the dance that reaches full swagger.

The sounds always surrounded freshness and versatility as guidelines and vertices from which they formed their structure. Through fine, delicate, and sophisticated sound layers, as well as a masterful live performance, the sound whole created completes a very rich closed universe. Between organicity and electronics, the air was always pierced by the ensemble formed.

The magic of this format accompanies the music visually. Not only with visuals projected on some walls of the venue – which is not the case – but also by placing the performer and his instruments at the centre of spaces that in themselves contain a very special charm. Space, sound, and performer become a single image, which can aid total immersion. Perhaps the art of sound is overshadowed by the showcasing of sound, as when a painting is spectacularised: the shadow of the show sometimes hides the art.

The latency of the space-place of the fortress is established as soon as the first minutes of the performance take place, while the sound prostrates itself in the centre. This is at the same time outstanding because it is the sound, and not something else that glimpses, but there also remains the question of how to continue to show the space in parallel to the sound in order to form a unity of sound/visual difference. In any case, the epoché is assured in the fortress and the sound, for they have suspended what is happening in the rest of the world; and we don’t care as long as Netam continues to perform. It all ends in the silence in which the last sighs of Netam‘s trumpet have left us.

Netam‘s latest work captures the essence of a stunning live performance against the backdrop of one of Istanbul’s most historic locations. Recorded in September 2022 in The Yedikule neighborhood, part of the Fatih district, is famous for its rich history and vibrant community. The seven-towered Yedikule Fortress, with Netam situated on one of its towers, provided a unique and inspiring backdrop for the recording, which took place during a mesmerizing sunset. This live performance enriches any time of the day and will keep you coming back for more.

Release Info
Artist: Netam
Title: Live @ Yedikule
Type: Audio/Video Live Album
Release Date: 26th of July on Youtube // 23rd of August on other platforms
Catalog No.: AO154
Record Label: Alt Orient

Credits
Executive Production: Alt Orient
Production: Plan Music / Dünyadan Sesler
Directed By Motif
Cinematography by motif
Camera Operators: Hiba Nabulsi, Enes Gulbas, Bader Helalat
Drone: Ekrem Doydu
Transportation: Oguzhan Aksoy
Stylist: Jad Toghuj
Editing & Coloring: Mohannad Al-Melhem
Mix: Netam
Mastering: Iorie @ Serafin Audio

1. Netam – Prolog [Live]
2. Netam – Tren [Live]
3. Eve Biōn – Follow (Netam Remix) [Live]
4. Netam ft. Damla Temel – Seyyare [Live]
5. Netam – Gnossienne Çorbası [Live]
6. Netam – Kurabiye [Live]
7. Netam – Gulyabani [Live]
8. Mâi- Jouska (Netam Remix) [Live]
9. Netam – Discordeon [Live]
10. Emin Gök ft. Eve Bion – Lady V (Netam Remix) [Live]
11. Netam – Zıpkın [Live]
12. Netam ft. Damla Temel – Toprak [Live]

Special thanks to Yavuz Selim Güneş, Semih Düz, Melih Demir, Tuğçe Aksoy, Taner Süzgün Buğra Celayir, Fatih Belediyesi, Necati Selvi, Hakan Sain
Huge Thanks to the record labels Kanto Records, Rituel Recordings & Noiseist Records for allowing us to publish this Live set properly.

Netam

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Alt Orient

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Club Furies

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