Name: Eren Erdol
Nationality: Turkish
Occupation: Producer, DJ
Recent release: Eren Erdol's new single "Babilonia" is out via Petra.
Recommendations: I would reccomend a book called Snow by Turkish Nobel prize winner writer Orhan Pamuk and a song; Mt. Wolf -"Life Size Ghosts (Catching Flies Remix)"

If you enjoyed this Eren Erdol interview and would like to stay up to date with his music and upcoming live dates, visit him on Instagram, Soundcloud, and twitter.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?



I try to use all of my feelings and emotions while making music. When İ listen to my ow music or any music İ like, İ feel more relaxed and have my eyes open.

Entering/creating new worlds through music has always exerted a strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music? 



When İ create a track, İ prefer to stay calm and trigger my creativity. It’s not the same process every time but mostly İ like to feel the spirit inside me and try to create unique sounds with different instruments.

Also, İ like to use the roots where İ came from.


According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then? 
 


Well, İ was digging rock and metal music when İ was 13-16 years old because İ was acting as a drummer at that time.

I discovered electronic music when İ was 20s and everything has completely changed because İ started to learn to produce my own music.

Tell me about one or two of your early pieces that you're still proud of (or satisfied with) – and why you're content with them.
 


I had a chance to cooperate with Joeski called “Falling” and İ would say this record from my early catalogue.

Also, my first own material İ did with Istabul based artist; Melis Guven called “The Outsider’ was so special for me because it was a Nu-Jazz record and hyped pretty much on domestic scene.

[Read our Joeski interview]

What is your current your studio or workspace like? What instruments, tools, equipment, and space do you need to make music? 
 


I like to work with instrumetalists all around the world. Over the years, İ created a good network and if, for example, İ want to put a flute into my track, İ contact an artist whose style I like and have amazing recorded material which İ can use.

Other than that, İ have TR 909, TR 808 drum machines, as well as a Juno synthesizer in my studio so İ can record my own beat.

[Read our feature on the TR-909]
[Read our feature on the Juno 106]

From the earliest sketches to the finished piece, tell me about the creative process for your current release, please. 
 


I started to produce my current release in Barcelona and finished it in Istanbul. I had a chance to work with an artist from Armenia for the external instrument recording which was a flute. Then I finished writing the beat and the bassline in Barcelona.

The last stage of the process was mixing the track and I had a chance work with infamous dub techo artist; Havantepe in Istanbul.

What role and importance do rituals have for you, both as an artist and a listener? 



I like to start making music in the mornings. I’m more of a morning person than a night person. I prepare a good coffee and start to create music.

As a listener, İ don’t have proper ritauls to be honest. I can listen at any time or in any mood.

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these? 
 


I like to put my personality into my music. This makes me feel much better and it’s more honest İ guess. :)

Late producer SOPHIE said: “You have the possibility [...] to generate any texture, and any sound. So why would any musician want to limit themselves?” What's your take on that? 
 


That’s super true. Nowadays, music makers have a chance to create every sound which comes from their mind because of improved technology. There are millions of possibilties while recording with the tools we have.

Also as İ mentioned, there are many possibilities to coooperate with amazig artists from all over the world. All we have to do is to decide what kind of texture we want to create.

Do you feel that your music or your work as an artist needs to have a societal purpose or a responsibility to anyone but yourself? 


It depends on what kind of music we make. Some genres are more political such as punk music.

However electronic music serves more personal purposes, İ think, so İ don’t feel that it should have social purpose.


Once a piece is done and released, do you find it important that listeners understand it in a specific way? How do you deal with “misunderstandings?”


I don’t believe in “misunderstadings” for my own materials. Every listener has their own opinion when they listen to my music and İ like them to keep that point.

Every opinion and every perception is special for me.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?



This is very musical because the sound serves to trigger emotions. Even I sometimes go into nature and record some materials such as the sound of the wind etc.

Any sound which an artist imagines putting in their song is very special for me.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold? 
 


I strongly support that idea. From the first human beings to today, sound has been used to describe many things such as expressing feelings etc.

However, I also believe in the importance of silence. I think we are living with a lot of sound which we don't prefer to hear and silence makes us more relaxed after experiencing so much external sound (let’s call it “noise”).

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?
 


Of course it’s different! I believe every artist from every discipline is special because they look and feel different than other people.

Every artist can prepare a coffee but not everyone can make art. :)

What is a music related question that you would like to ask yourself – and what's your answer to it?

The question would be; What happens if İ lost to desire to make a music?