Interview with Korhan Erel

 

Korhan @ Stapeltor 2021 by Ingo Bogardts

Korhan Erel (no pronoun or they) is a non-binary electronic musician, improviser, composer and sound artist based in Berlin. Erel’s music covers free improvisation, conceptual sound performances, structured and composed pieces, music for contemporary dance, theater and video art. Erel performs solo, duo and group performances with improvisers, jazz musicians, dancers, in ensembles and orchestras.

Current projects and bands include Ephemeral Fragments (with Florian Walter and Emily Wittbrodt), Pep Talk (with Ayşe Cansu Tanrıkulu), Only With You (with Eliad Wagner), Les Desaccordeuses (with Anaïs Tuerlinckx and Cedrik Fermont), audiovisual duo with Liudmila Siewerski and Lettow Erel (with Gunnar Lettow).

Korhan has had three residencies at STEIM (Center for research & development of instruments & tools for performers) in Amsterdam (2005 & 2011), and was a guest composer at the Electronic Music Studios in Stockholm in January 2011.

Korhan has twelve CD and LP releases on ECM (with Trickster Orchestra), Umland Records (Germany), FMR (UK), Gruenrekorder (Germany), Creative Sources Records (Portugal), Evil Rabbit Records (Netherlands/Germany), A.K. Müzik (Turkey), Müzik Hayvanı (Turkey) and Kukuruku Recordings (Greece) as well as several digital releases.

Korhan has performed at Soundtrips NRW, Moers Festival, Labor Sonor, Klangzeit Festival, Borusan Music House, XJAZZ, All Ears, New Adits, Akbank Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, TADAEX, CHIII Festival and at many more venues and festivals across Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Americas.

Korhan’s collaboration with Sydney-based video artist Fabian Astore “The Threshold” has won the Blake Prize in Australia in 2012.

Erel has shown several sound installations in art spaces in Germany, Hong Kong and Turkey.

1. Every musician, and especially the one that analyses the context of the situation they are in and draws inspiration from it, had some sort of point of beginning and inspiration that went with it. What do you think was the starting point of your musical path? What other important stops were there on this path?

While I have always been involved with some sort of sound/music-making since I've stopped being a baby - and even then, according to my mom - I think there were two breakthroughs: My very small toy piano I had in the mid-70s and the Commodore 64 computer my parents bought me in 1984 - almost breaking the bank. 

2. With ever changing circumstances as far as society and politics is concerned, what is a compass guiding you through it? How do you see those changes in your life as a musician?

I don't believe in political contemporary art and don't think most of it serves any purpose or achieves any tangible result - mostly because its reach is very small and limited to certain social classes. I am particularly irritated with the fact that a lot of artists turned their "identities" into money-making machines while causing absolutely no positive change in the lives of many people that belong to that same identity. However, as a sensitive human being, I am obviously affected by what goes on around me - emotionally, socially, and sometimes financially. My compass, though not always accurate, is the joy of playing with sounds and collaborating with others, although the latter I do less of these days by choice. My first 13 years as a semi-professional musician were spent in Turkey, where it was almost impossible to make a living, but the small scene I helped to create was unaffected by the constant political turmoil the country was/is going through, I think partly because we did not depend on music for our livelihood. We just kept playing. Since I moved to Germany in 2014, political events have had a bigger impact on me as a professional musician.These events affect funding, either by creating trends or by affecting funding budgets.

3. Every artist works within a certain modal using their instruments. How has your relationship with your instrument changed over time?

I like to explore, bend, and repurpose sounds. For most of my life as a musician, I used computers to do this, and my practice was almost entirely based on recorded sound. In 2016, due to serious issues with Apple computers and my software of choice, Ableton Live, I transitioned to smaller, custom digital instruments and also began experimenting with synthesizers. In 2020, I transitioned to using synths for both performing and composing. In recent years, I have been using hybrid systems consisting of computers and synths. Because these transitions have involved changes in the way I interact with my instruments, they have had a profound influence on my performance style and sonic palette. Recorded and synthesized sounds behave in completely different ways, even when played through the same physical interface. I am now at a point where I can combine the best of both worlds.

 

4. What was the idea behind collecting music on the last vinyl record?

I don't collect vinyl or CDs. I purchase music mainly on Bandcamp. 

5. How are you feeling about collaborating with others?

My professional music career started with one collaboration and has continued with many more. Since 2011 I have been playing solo shows and since 2022 I have been playing more of them. This does not mean that I do not collaborate with others. I have three very active collaborations in addition to some that are in the early stages.

 

6. Ever changing landscape of musical distribution is pretty difficult to be dependent on. What are your insights on it and how does it work for you now?

I put music on Bandcamp and I haven't put out an album in years. People have stopped buying CDs and vinyl isn't selling very well either. I think it has become very easy to consume music unless it is very experimental. Music produced by people like me is not readily available and most of it is better heard live. In any case, musicians in well-funded scenes are not dependent on album sales, but still need to release because festivals still want new content.  

 

7. Plans for the future?

I plan to play more solo shows, develop some of my bands, avoid working for other musicians unless they pay really well, and travel more. I hope to reach a point in 4-5 years where I don't have to depend on funding/playing many concerts...this will be a kind of retirement, but the music will always go on as long as I'm able to do it in some way.