How did your passion for music start?
I started taking piano lessons when I was 4 but my family wanted me to focus on school, so I had to stop in elementary school. Later on in high school I started taking guitar lessons and continued it as a hobby.
I have always found peace in music. Making mix tapes was my biggest hobby, but the Korn – Issues album changed my life as I discovered a world beyond Pop music. After that I was introduced to the The Cure – Disintegration album and music became my inseparable passion in life; I can say that I found myself.
You also produce film scores. Can you tell us about the difference in the creative process?
Film scoring is actually a harder process that takes you out of the conventional song writing process and puts you in the script and dialogue mood.
My creative process in film scoring is far more different than of starting a new track in my own projects. For example, I start a conventional production first with drums, but I prefer starting film scoring with mood and sound design. I limit the instruments I use to specific ones depending on the film and try to get the maximum effort out of those.
Can you talk about the Pitch Black and Phallen collaboration?
The relationship between us is quite unique, we have an interesting frequency together. Dmitri (Pitch Black) is my co-producer for the whole album which will include several tracks featuring him as well.
In the beginning of summer we shot a live performance video for our track “Filling the void,” which is a more cinematic work different than my album project, and decided to start a duo project together.
First of all, we don’t start any project without inspiration or drive. Our priority is to have the production process as productive and organic as possible. In order to be efficient, we take each project on its own and use each other’s strengths depending on the challenges we face.
It is also crucial to refrain from repeating ourselves. For us, being unique leads to innovation and to keep this, we are always open to different techniques and new concepts.
You moved your studio from New York to Istanbul a few months ago. How did this change affect you in terms of inspiration?http://www.erim.io/basedistanbul/wp-admin/index.php
I lived abroad for approximately 10 years and felt like it was finally time to move back home. I lived in various cities like London, Boston, and Miami but the place where I expanded my vision the most is New York. I honestly think that it is a privilege to live there. It is a city that makes you chase the innovative and the different.
I started to get involved with the retro-futurism trend in the recent years and the view from my studio in New York was perfect for inspiration in that sense. I chose to move my studio to Zorlu Center to get the same vibe in Istanbul. I think the common point of these two cities is chaos, and this alone is an inspiration for me.
We heard that your are releasing your first EP soon. If you were to describe it in three words, what would you say?
Nostalgia, melancholia, love.
Are there times when your artist persona contradicts your music producer identity?
It is very important for me to not compromise from my own personality, however I do believe in adaptation. I believe that the new cities I live in, the new places I go to, and the new people I meet, all add to expand my vision in my creative process and inspire my artist persona.
In music production every project is a different story actually; I was lucky enough to learn something new from the people I worked with. The vocals in my album are from different singers, and though it is challenging to work with multiple talents in a short period of time, it has been as helpful. The contradictions I faced pushed me to improve myself and as a mater of fact, taught me to better articulate my own ideas.
How important is music in your daily life? When do you enjoy listening to music the most?
Music is my priority, the dominant component of my life. Similar to my childhood years when I wouldn’t let go of my Walkman or cd player, my headphones now are like a part of my body. There is always a song in my head even if there is no music, I like to associate every moment with it. Even ‘silence’ became a tune I choose to listen to occasionally. When I think about it, I wouldn’t even study without music.
I usually prefer listening to a whole album. I think that listening to music should be an activity by itself in life. It shouldn’t only be for your daily runs like listening to the radio in traffic or catching a rhythm at the gym. But if I have to choose, I always enjoyed listening to music while driving on empty roads at night.
If not at your studio, where are you?
If I’m not with my folks or watching a movie, I like to explore the city I am in. Waiting for my studio to get done this summer, I had the chance to discover places I have never seen before. Instead of going to places by recommendation, I prefer acting on spontaneous feelings and finding myself in a coincidental place; preferably accompanied by music, of course.
What can’t you live without?
My headphones!