- Kurdish singing meets slo-mo electronics.
- Müstesna Records is a label run by Ece Özel and Umut Kahya, two Istanbul-based DJs who specialise in abstract dance music. (This 2017 set from Özel shows her taste in twisted acid lines and synth melodies, the kind of sounds you might hear at the Berlin party CockTail d'Amore.) Following a classy retrospective of tunes from a Turkish synth-pop band, Müstesna's second release is another compilation, this time raising money for the Eylül Cansın Trans Guest House, a place of refuge for Turkey's trans community. shelTer collects 24 cuts from artists at home and abroad, a highlight of which is "Fremde" by Mekîne Û Teksî.
"Fremde" has plenty in common with the heady style of Insanlar, a Turkish group that blends traditional instrumentation with loopy, four-on-the-floor electronics. The hypnotic twang of what sounds like a bağlama (Turkey's most common string instrument) shuffles around the stereo field, entwining with synth lines and soaring Kurdish vocals. Just under 100 BPM, "Fremde" is a colourful option for DJs searching for slow, powerful tunes.