Amidst current circumstances, Berlin's Anatolian Music Festival remains a vital necessity.
Music Festivals Unite Diverse Cultures: Europe's İç Içe Celebrates Contemporary Anatolian Sounds
Get your dancing shoes on and head to Berlin's Kreuzberg neighborhood on Saturday, June 14th, for Germany's only festival of contemporary Anatolian music: Iç İçe. Founded by Melissa Kolukisagil, this vibrant event brings together folk musicians, belly dancing drag queens, hip hop artists, and plenty of fans at the Festsaal Kreuzberg.
Iç İçe means intertwined in Turkish, chosen to embody the sense of connection among Anatolia's diverse cultures, music, religions, and languages. The festival also represents the crowd Kolukisagil envisioned, with highlights from last year's attendees including families with children, LGBTQ+ teenagers embracing public affection for the first time, and multiple diaspora communities feeling welcome.
Kolukisagil, born to Turkish gastarbeiters (migrant workers) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, grew up immersed in 90s Turkish pop and folk music. Enjoying instruments like the bağlama, a long-necked lute heard in traditional Turkish music, her passion for the genre leads her to create a sanctuary for those seeking authentic connections.
After moving to Berlin to study political science, Kolukisagil discovered the city's thriving techno scene. In 2017, she scored a job as a booker at a small festival, marking the beginning of her career in music. As the industry struggled with a lack of diversity in the early 2010s, Kolukisagil was thrilled to see non-Western-centric artists breaking through to the mainstream at Fusion, a long-standing Berlin techno event.
Germany's Turkish diaspora has a long-established musical subculture, dating back to the 60s and 70s, when the first gastarbeiters created a circuit of music venues and record labels. This rich history has been largely overlooked, despite contributions to the country's musical landscape from pioneering German language hip-hop artists in the 80s and 90s.
Eager to erase the isolation she felt as a migrant child, Kolukisagil made Iç İçe a reality when she secured funding from Musicboard Berlin. Determined to prioritize artists from marginalized backgrounds, she now includes Flinta (women, lesbians, intersex, non-binary, trans, or a-gender) and queer individuals in the festival lineup.
Iç İçe doesn't shy away from addressing current political issues, such as the rise in anti-Muslim racism and the cancellation of events supporting Palestine. The event remains poignant as it empowers communities to embrace their identities and come together, inspiring healing and connection.
As Iç İçe grows and expands, it will continue bridging cultural gaps, unifying diverse individuals through music, and spreading the message of true inclusion.
Additional Info:
- Learn more about the history of Turkish psychedelia, explored in the documentary Love, Deutschmarks and Death.
- Discover other exciting festivals celebrating diverse cultures and music, such as South Asian Sounds and Brighton's Mehfil culture revival.
Event attendees should prepare for an exciting blend of various music genres at Iç İçe, featuring folk musicians, belly dancing drag queens, and hip hop artists. This contemporary Anatolian music festival offers a platform for authentic connections and cultural unity, embodied in its name, which means intertwined in Turkish.
