DJ Mag party day to gather electronic music lovers

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Influenced by the early sound of The Haçienda, famous British DJ Sasha is expected to take the stage at 10 pm. The perfromance continues until 12 am at Küçükçiftlik Park in Istanbul.

Contemporary company Urban Bug has joined forces with the music magazine DJ Mag to organize its first party “Party Day” with important names in electronic music, such as Sasha, Sander Kleinenberg, Marc Vedo and Macit Kimyacı performing during the one day party on Aug 20. DJs Orkun Bozdemir-Ali Efe Dinç, Beatporn-Azun will also perform.

The event will take place with the sponsorship of Efes Pilsen and an after party will take place at Frame.

“Generally, Urban Bug is a network which aims to spread the urban culture. It was established in 2011 and has more than 500 employees and more than 100 writers working and creating events and networking,” the organizer of the event and founder of Urban Bug Can Tayfun said.

“While Urban Bug is spreading its network, its main support was electronic dance music,” Tayfun, adding that DJ Mag is a part of the Urban Bug events.

This year the DJ Mag party will serve up 15 hours of nonstop tunes for electronic music lovers, said Tayfun. The event will not only host music, but also culture activities, said Tayfun.

Design stands, tattoo artists, automobile showcases and fusion kitchen dishes will also be at the one day event. The event’s many partners include Harley Davidson, Şişli Municipality and Karakiri magazine. The event’s after party will host Marc Vedo, Tolga Tan, Procombo and Yunus Kasarcı.

Turkey’s electronic music scene

“Ten years ago there were five large [DJ] companies in Turkey, however, now this figure has decreased to three. The quality has decreased also,” Tayfun said about DJ events in Turkey.

As a result of the decreasing quality of electronic music events the music scene’s audience has also decreased, according to Tafun. “As Urban Bug we always try to do our best and make our signature high quality events such as Godskitchen, Slinky, Global Underground and Hardcandy events.”

DJ Mag is a magazine read by electronic music lovers from all over the world, he said. “We have collaborated with them because we want to show the best part of electronic music in Turkey.”

However, despite the number of electronic music events decreasing in Turkey the number of DJs has increased in recent years, Tayfun said. “Electronic music is no longer is a part of sub-culture activity. It is no longer a part of the club culture. It has become a part of the popular culture.”

In the past people labeled electronic music an underground scene, Tayfun said. “This is no longer the trend. The developments in the far East and in other countries have triggered the scene and helped its development by creating new markets.”

According to Tayfun, parties have returned indoors to clubs because outdoor parties have been unable to remain high-quality events as attendance numbers grow.

About the lineup

The party event will start at 2 p.m. with Beatporn–Azun, followed by Orkun Bozdemir-Ali Efe Dinç. Marc Vedo will take the stage at 6 p.m. and Sander Kleinenberg will take the stage after him at 8 p.m. The last performance at Küçükçiftlik Park will be DJ Sasha. The visuals will be made by Rastarules and Efe.

Influenced by the early sound of The Haçienda, famous British DJ Sasha began his career playing records of the rough, danceable genre of acid house. By the early 1990s, he had moved toward a darker European house music style, though by the time of his Shelley’s residency he had begun to experiment more with American house.

Sasha will share the stage with Kleinenberg, who is well known for his work with self-created visuals and video usage in concerts. Kleinenberg has said he uses video in his performances because it allows for more variety and allows his concerts to reflect real life.