Yunus Guvenen, the leader of Turkish electronic music producers, balancing on the boundries of progressive.
After success of "Red Pilot" and "Delta" EP he signed for Bedrock with double EP titled "Invasion". He's going to be in Poland in few days so we'll see his djing skills as well.

Sound Revolt: Has anything changed since last year in your life? Still a full-time employee?
Yunus Güvenen: I have recently quit my day job in order to focus on my own musical projects. I believe that working 2 years in an intense position such as production manager gave me an exceptional experience and made me learn the diverse facets of the entertainment industry. I just fell at one point that I needed to dedicate more time into my musical career. Today my goal is to develop myself both at a DJ and production level, as well as to create an Istanbul based musical platform such as a label or a collective in which many talented artists from this city will have the chance to be heard internationally.

Sound Revolt: What is Turkish progressive scene like?
Yunus Güvenen: Concerning Turkey the scene is really fresh and dynamic. You have the opportunity to see an international artist almost every weekend and people are eager to learn more about the scene and culture. Also I strongly believe that Istanbul gathers a very tight DJ/producer community a little bit similar to the Vienna scene. This community comprises an array of very talented and original members who will certainly be discovered internationally, Subsky and I are probably only the tip of the iceberg.

Sound Revolt: What inspires you? Would you say your sound is a Middle East sound?
Yunus Güvenen: The sound of the Middle East is definitely interesting; I have been inspired by Anatolian or Sufi music at the beginning of my career. At home I listen to very little dance music; I keep that for my late evenings as a DJ. I think the Vienna scene is fantastic, and so is the Köln one, labels like G-stone, Kompak or Compost deserving all the attention. I really enjoy early 90s pop/indie rock such as the Divine Comedy, Pulp and I am a great fan of Radiohead and would dream to see one day producing an electronic/acoustic album with Nigel Godrich. Coldplay seems to be also onto something very nice. My musical inspirations are very diverse and I let myself touched by anything that expresses ingeniousity or intelligence.

Sound Revolt: You studied electrical engineering, James Holden maths. Both of you produce successfully without music schools...
Yunus Güvenen: The famous cubist painter Georges Braque use to say "art disturbs, science reassures". Science is an intangible part of arts. It gives you a methodology, discipline and allows you to connect those divergent ideas back into rational. Furthermore I strongly defend that the greatest artistic impacts, especially in the 21st century will be made by artists who come from different cultural and educational backgrounds rather than the classical arts school curriculum. There are many artistic symbols to me that never had an arts education, for instance the prominent director Mathew Barney is a doctor by education. You can clearly see his attachment to the human anatomy or his meticulous "surgeon" like attention to details, his art reflects his atypical background and gives him an extra edge in his vision.

Sound Revolt: Your tracks are very diverse. You don't use simple patterns and trite samples. How much time does it take to produce a good tune? Is there a moment that you know the track is ready?
Yunus Güvenen: The time it takes for a composition to appear can be between 3 hours to 3 weeks. I mean there is no clear explanation for this process, sometimes the notes 'come' to you and sometimes you have to create the moment. However I have experienced times in which I stopped writing for very long periods simply because I did not feel like it. It is an uncomfortable situation but you have to accept it as a part of the creative process, I always tell my entourage that creativity is the most volatile thing on this planet. Concerning the diversity of my compositions I really try to make an effort on that, I always start from scratch and let the song give its own shape rather then me premeditating and setting a path, this way the track differentiates itself naturally. However this process can be very challenging as you always have to leave a little trademark somewhere, people should get into your music while understanding that this might have been done by you.

Sound Revolt: Your remix of Lustral - "Everytime" is my favorite tune of 2002. Is it always possible to produce a good track remixing average one?
Yunus Güvenen: Hope that no avid fanatics of the original would read this comment, hehe. The track was never commissioned to me, I was writing this track called "Lullaby" and had the accapella of Lustral in my hard drive. I decided to edit the audio file and use it in some parts of the track, it sounded great. Back in February of 2002 I had given "Lullaby" to J. Digweed. A few weeks later I started reading on message boards that John was playing a 'psyched" version of Lustral - "Everytime" The track was then included to John&Sasha's Essential mix and a release had become expected.
As you can notice my release has no similarities with the original one except for the little vocal hook. As a result I could not consider this piece as a remix and cannot specifically answer your question. However you can assume that some elements of the original track must definitely be inspiring or promising in order to do a good remix job.

Sound Revolt: On the other hand "Red Pilot" was the most played tune among your productions. Don't you think it's a big challenge to do a better track?
Yunus Güvenen: Artistic challenge is the driving energy of our soul, our "raison d'etre". I need to feel that my compositions are like obstacles and that I have to found an ingenuous way to overcome them. I strongly believe that the real challenge is not to make a track that would be played more that your previous big hit but to make something that could last time. I mean there are many tracks that sound excellent today and would be played in many dj sets but how many of them are going to be listenable in 5 years, making forward thinking music while keeping things accessible is my greatest challenge.

Sound Revolt: What do you feel when you hear your tunes in Holden's, Digweed's, Cattaneo's and many more DJs sets?
Yunus Güvenen: To see that your compositions are being recognized and supported is a fantastic feeling. Arts and music especially can be enjoyed so much more when shared. Last april when I was at the Delta heavy tour in new York I have had the honor to see 4 of my new releases played by Digweed, that was a truly emotive and exceptional night for me, just to see 5000 people just reacting to your records on and on was just very intense.

Sound Revolt: What are your plans for the next time? Can we expect new releases from Yunus or Mavi in near future?
Yunus Güvenen: Definitely watch out for the new stuff because I have been a busy one during the whole winter. The connected spirits Ep will be out by end of June on Regress, this includes my remix of the Dream (incl. Moshic-Dj Mag set) and Sheltox (co-produced with close mate Subsky). Furthermore I have recently signed a double EP to Bedrock and continue my relations with Silver Planet with an EP with them as well.
I strongly hope that the new material will define something original to the listeners and make them feel that Yunus is only now showing his real potential.

Sound Revolt: What do you think about progressive full-vocal tracks? Will you ever produce one?
Yunus Güvenen: I like listening to vocals, it really adds a different emotive level. I believe that I will soon start working with vocals, especially if I intend to pursue my aspirations for an artist album. I think that I d like to use vocals in a more melancholic or jazzy way than the typical Balearic way that most of the prog vocal tracks explore. I'm a great fan of Massive Attack when it comes to using vocals properly.

Sound Revolt: It's really hard to find your name on parties' line-ups beyond Turkey. Why is that? You don't will to travel? Maybe you should consider releasing a full length DJ mix to introduce yourself as DJ?
Yunus Güvenen: Due to my intense day job for the past 2 years, I have majorly been able to focus on my production capabilities only. I have had the honor to play at the Arc in NYC last November but could not really dedicate myself to pursue this line internationally. However now things are changing and I m going back into what made me fall in love with music at first place, Djing. I am hopefully coming to Poland on the 24th of May and really looking forward to share some special moments together. I believe that a release for a DJ set will progressively be considered as I develop my DJ name internationally.

Sound Revolt: So, what is DJ Yunus like? Your favorite labels, producers, genres?
Yunus Güvenen: I am an entertainer, I get in that booth in order to have a good time and to share these moments with all the mad people. I like blending trancy sounds with hip-tech stuff, I need to admit that I also put a fair dose of my own little music, the crowd's reactions at those times become the greatest motivation source in order t get back in the studio right away.
When it comes to labels I like a lot of stuff from up and coming small labels from England and Germany. When it comes to production Layo&Bushwacka are my favorites, their music breathes intelligence and their attention to details is exceptional. Zabiela as a DJ is also a phenomenon who deserves all the credits.

Sound Revolt: Would you like to say anything to your fans in Poland?
Yunus Güvenen: I'll be down in Poland on the 24th of May so get ready to wear your sneakers!

The End

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