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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

On senedir yerli sahnede olup bitenleri yakından takip ediyorum. Her senenin sonunda da en ilginç bulduğum albümleri yazıyorum. @velvele.net için hazırladığım bu listede 2025'ten 12 albümü bir araya getirdim. velvele.net/2025/12/30/k...

velvele.net

Kenan Behzat Sharpe seçti: Yerli sahnenin en iyi albümleri (2025)

Müzik eleştirmeni Kenan Behzat Sharpe, geleneksel yıl sonu seçkisiyle karşınızda

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

And I hate to do this, but if you want to read the rest, you can find the full thread on the formerly bird, now bad website whose name I will not say here. I don't want to fill everyone's feeds here with 55+ posts, so look there if you want to keep reading. And happy listening!

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

The first 10 songs on the playlist gave us a sense of the variety of styles in Turkey’s contemporary scene and the high level of musicianship here. We’ve honored musical legends and also met new talent. Now we’re slowly transitioning into the first of two clusters of rock songs.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

10) I've covered Min Taka in earlier playlists. Having left Turkey for the Netherlands to further her music career, she's playing with English lyrics & new sounds, both classic & experimental. Like this bossa nova-style groove cut through with '50s audio samples about eye health.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

9) Another discovery for me is the trio heryol. Like what Duman once did for Turkish rock by adapting Nirvana to the local sound, heryol absorbs the lessons of Radiohead and The Smile (minus the bad politics). They describe their sound as “sufi bedroom art rock." That checks out.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

8) A new discovery for me in 2025 was Ilgaz Altın, who has a classic rock/folk sound with a maturity beyond his years. In fact, some of his songs remind me of the theatricality and tongue-in-cheek humor of certain early MFÖ songs and 70s/80s pop-rock more generally.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

7) Let's also take a moment to honor those who have passed, like MFÖ bassist and singer Özkan Uğur. Two years after his death, we were treated to an EP of unreleased songs, including this world-weary take on the vagaries of romance. His words of wisdom continue to move us.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

6) Thankfully, musicians also responded to the cries for rights, rule of law, & justice. Pop musician @mabelmatiz put his own career on the line to write an anthem for the mostly young protestors who broke down the police barricades and spent months in the streets for democracy.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

As we wrap up 2025, one highly significant event was the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the hammer of repression coming down over the head of Turkey’s opposition. The short-lived protests centered in the Saraçhane district of Istanbul was one of the few rays of hope.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

5) Dilhan Şeşen is one of the best young songwriters in Turkey. Her new EP is worth a listen. There’s the gorgeous arrangement reminiscent of 2000s indie rock like TV on the Radio. Then there’s the powerful lyrics about shedding one’s shame and finding beauty in the wreckage.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

4) Musical doyen Sezen Aksu returned with an album this year. I was most moved by "Linç," about children who never get the chance to grow up: whether it's those slaughtered in Gaza, or kids abused and killed by their families, or the child laborers of Turkey's MESEM project...

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

3) Here’s a song from the talented trumpeter @dilan_balkay, best known for work with the band Dolu Kadehi Ters Tut but also a unique vocalist and songwriter. Such an evocative description of mental/physical exhaustion here: “Two arms and shoulders, I can’t carry them all.”

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

2) Batuhan Polat is a very talented young musician. He has a unique voice and a strong command of melody, in addition to clear skill behind the guitar, drums, and bass. In a year where music has gotten faker than ever, there’s something satisfyingly organic here.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Song 1) To start, we have a song from rising star @paptircem. I love the stylistic contrast between the loud, synth-heavy choruses and the quiet, jazzy verses (not to mention the powerful vocals!). A good example of the sonic variety and strong musicianship of the local scene.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

But if you haven't quit Spotify yet, here's that link too: open.spotify.com/playlist/10p...

open.spotify.com

Best of Turkey 2025

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

We're all mad at Spotify for its shady business dealings, coziness with authoritarian governments, & bad treatment of artists. So I'm going to share Apple & YouTube links. Still not ideal, but less egregious. music.youtube.com/playlist?lis... music.apple.com/us/playlist/...

music.youtube.com

Best of Turkey 2025

The best songs from Turkey, from indie rock and pop to punk and rap. Listen in order! Sequenced for flow 🎧

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Below is the playlist link. Read along as you listen! The songs range from pop & indie to rap & rock. As always, the songs aren’t rated from best to worst or whatever. They're all good. Rather, the track sequence is designed for the ideal listening experience & flow by genre.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

BEST OF TURKISH MUSIC 2025 🧵 The year is nearly over. The music magazines gave their top picks, everyone analyzed their own listening habits, and now it's time for our 7th annual list of songs from Turkey. Here are my mini-reviews and a playlist of my 50+ favorite songs!

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

I wrote about a chilling criminal case against one of Turkey’s most important musicians: Mabel Matiz. He and the girl group Manifest both face prison time over lyrics and dance moves. It’s all part of a new wave of repression in the name of “family values” www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Tu...

balcanicaucaso.org

Mabel Matiz: Music and Censorship in Turkey

Mabel Matiz, one of Turkey's most famous pop singers, risks prison for his latest song, which has been labeled "obscenity" because it sings of homosexual love: a further crackdown on the LGBT communit...

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

With the recent example of a screenwriter being taken into custody and the case against girl group Manifest’s stage performances, it’s clear that laws are being used in new way that very much interferes in content, particularly regarding female sexuality and LGBT representation.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

In periods like the 1980 coup, songs have been banned & records confiscated for political lyrics or lyrics in Kurdish, but I believe this is the first example of a song being censored for erotic lyrics—and when I say erotic it’s nothing that would be out place in any 90s pop song

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

The latest single by Mabel Matiz, Turkey’s preeminent pop singer and songwriter, will likely be banned after a complaint by the Ministry of Family and Social Services about it being a “threat to the public order” for erotic song lyrics. Yes, lyrics are now cause for censorship.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Amidst all the bad news here & in the world it's been hard to find a time to share the good, but I wanted say that I'm thrilled to have started as an assistant professor in the Cultural Studies program (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) at Sabancı University in Istanbul!

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Bad Bunny’nin gösterdiği gibi, geleneksel müziklere sahip çıkıp onları günümüze uygun bir şekilde uyarlamak sadece farklı kuşakları değil, geniş coğrafyaları da birleştiren bir hareket. Elimizde köklü ve çok yönlü bir müzikal miras var.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Aynı zamanda geleneksel müzik topluluklarıyla daha fazla işbirliği yapılabilir. Bad Bunny bir plena grubuyla çalışabiliyorsa, neden bir popçu Kardeş Türküler’le çalışamaz mesela? Ya da bir rock grubu, Aynur ile çalışsa ne kadar ilginç olur.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Daha da derinlere inersek, başka neler yapılabilir? Mesela reggaetón’un dans ettiren ritmiyle en çok aşık atabilecek şey olarak elimizde, Roman müziğinden bildiğimiz 9/8’lik ritim var. Onunla başka janralarda neler yapılabilir? 9/8’lik rap olabilir mi mesela? Denemeden bilemeyiz.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

...Porto Riko’yu yansıtması. Türkiye’de elbette müzikal geleneği yeniden yorumlamak konusunda benzer yönelimler görebiliyoruz. Ancak birkaç istisna dışında izlenen strateji, bir pop şarkısında bağlama tıngırdatmaktan veya rap’e biraz arabesk serpiştirmekten öteye gidemiyor.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Debí Tirar Más Fotos için, Bad Bunny’nin şimdiye kadar yaptığı en Porto Rikolu albüm deniyor. Daha önceki diğer çalışmalarında da içerik olarak adanın tarihi ve sorunlarıyla ilgilenmişti; ancak bu son albümü farklı ve bence dünyada bu kadar popüler kılan şey sonik olarak da...

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Onun nasıl ve neden dünya genelinde popüler olduğunu anlayarak, Türkiye’nin yerel sahnesi için de bazı denenmemiş yollar ve kullanılmamış fırsatları görebiliriz.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Aynı zamanda bunu yaparken, ‘dünya müziği’ gettosuna da hapsolmadı, enikonu bir pop yıldızı olarak kariyerini sürdürdü. O zaman gerçekten de evrenselliğin yolu yerellikten geçiyor diyebilir miyiz? Bad Bunny’den çıkarabileceğimiz dersler, bu global/yerel dinamiklerine dair.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Bad Bunny’nin son albümü bize gösteriyor ki Türkiye gibi coğrafyaların müziklerinin global piyasada nasıl yer bulduğunu önemseyen herkes onun örneğini dikkate almalı. Kendi yerel kültürü ve dilinden hiç taviz vermeden dünyaca ünlü oldu çünkü. 🧵

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

I wrote about women in rock music from Turkey to the US and how successive generations have been ignored or forgotten only later to be remembered and reclaimed. From Fanny to Eroğlu Kızlar Orkestrası, Liz Phair to Şebnem Ferah, you read the essay here: sheermag.substack.com/p/power-recl...

sheermag.substack.com

Power Reclaimed: Generations of Women Rockers From Turkey to the U.S.

For decades, women rockers from the U.S. and Turkey have rebelled against the patriarchal music industry. Their heritage of reclaiming power from "men in suits" continues strong today.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

Listemin sonuna geldik. 2024’ün en iyi 3 albümünü açıkladığım yazı yayında!

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Bu senenin en iyi şarkılarını yazdım, yerli sahnenin 2024'teki trendlerini özetledim. Şimdi de @velvele.net için yılın en iyi albümlerini listeliyorum. Bugün itibariyle geri sayım başladı, 13’ten 9'a kadarki ilk bölüm yayında! velvele.net/2024/12/22/y...

velvele.net

Yerli sahnenin en iyi albümleri: 13’ten 9’a

Müzik eleştirmeni Kenan Behzat Sharpe, geride bırakmaya hazırlandığımız 2024’ün en iyi albümlerini Velvele okuyucuları için derledi. Aynı zamanda yerli müzik sahnesinin bir fotoğrafını çeken …

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Reposted by Kenan Behzat Sharpe

Éamann Mac Donnchada @almagroschool.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

some fabulous pop here, never mind if you, like me, don't understand the lyrics, feel those big emotions

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Yıl sonu en iyi albümler listemi paylaşmadan önce yerli pop, rap ve rock sahnesindeki genel trendler üzerine yazdım. Gerçekten farklı bir şey yapmaya çalıştım bu yazıda. Tek dileğim, 2024’teki müzik hayatımızla ilgili bir tartışma zemini sunması...

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Send us your paper proposals on James Baldwin's Istanbul! I'm happy to be a co-convener of this year's Keyman Modern Turkish Studies conference alongside İpek Kocaömer Yosmaoğlu. We're looking forward to a great conference in Istanbul with the support of Sabancı University.

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Reposted by Kenan Behzat Sharpe

Sedat Kapanoğlu @ssg.dev · 12/12/2024

kenan’s playlist last year was fantastic. now 2024 edition is out: 🥳

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Do you want to be the first to hear about my new music publication? Send a blank email with the subject line HENGAME to k*nanbsh*rpe@gmail.com (fill in the blanks on the email address). I will email you back as we get ready to launch!

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

If you’ve made it to the end of the list, congratulations! And I want to reward you with a big piece of news. I have big new project related to Turkish music news and criticism coming in 2024. I've been doing this for years and it's time to level up.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

55) Under the moniker Armageddon Turk, producers Orkun Tunç & Zag Erlat released the second volume in their "Anadolu Lo-fi" series. Classic Turkish folk songs reimagined with the chill sounds of old-school hip-hop. It's a perfect way to end the mixtape on a reflective note.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

54) Another of Mabel Matiz's many compositions for other artists, Zeynep Bastık's performance of "Lan" became one of the stand-out popular songs of 2024. The unique grain of her voice works well with Mabel's characteristic melodies.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

53) Working with talented jazz musicians including Ediz Hafızoğlu, in this song Bidar reinterprets Şemsi Yastıman’s 1968 folk song "Welcome, Aliens!" A hilarious address to outer-space visitors that was a way to make fun of contemporary politics, it works well in our day.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

52) 3pillie is hard to explain. He’s a multi-instrumentalist who can play everything on stage, a Turkish kid who raps like he’s from Staten Island, a jazz fan who knows his way around a piano, and a math-rocker who takes the guitar inside out. Just trust me on this one.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

51) As a founder of the band Çilekeş and a collaborator of Gaye Su Akyol and others, Görkem Karabudak has his chops for good rock music. Not much in music truly surprises me anymore, but his new EP Kontra is truly mind-melting stuff. Türkçe rock for the year 3024.

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Kenan Behzat Sharpe @kenansharpe.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

50) This track sounds incredibly filthy. The production is harsh and heavy. But over it all, the rapper known as UZUM3 uses her strangely angelic autotuned voice to tie it all together. Whether you like hyperpop or even know what it is, this track is real counterculture.

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