Ömer Ürensel | Midnight Waves (2024)
Can Erkan Arslan | Untitled (2024)
Öykü Sağlam | Sağır Duymaz Uydurur (2024)
Zeren İldoğan | Untitled (2024)
Doğa Tansel | Octagon (2024)
Emre Uğur | Echoes of the Nile (2024)
Adnan Şahin | 7.8 (2024)
Özkan Umutcan Bapbacı | Nyogtha (2023-24)
Hideki Kozakura | REUSonance (2023/2024)
for trumpet solo and electronics
Ada Dinçer | Haiku I (2024)
Deniz Aslan | Yowling Metals, 2024
Tolga Yayalar | Impulse Impromptu (2022-24)
I. Kanun
II. Zurna
III. Koto
Hideki Kozakura | Echoes of Istanbul
Alican Çamcı | hiss promenade, (2024)
Ada Dinçer (2003)
Composition Department, Bilkent University/ Kunst Universitat Graz
Haiku I (2024)
A bath when you’re born, a bath when you die, how stupid.
-Issa
Alican Çamcı, 1989
School of Music and Department of Film Studies, University of Tulsa
hiss promenade (2024)
hiss promenade is a short study based on my live performance work with AM radios and CD players. It focuses on the sounds of crackles, pops, skips, hisses, and noises caused by electromagnetic interference — as if we are following musical ideas in a forest of these artifacts in a circular, aimless path. Such sounds, commonly present in earlier audio production and playback systems, have been largely eliminated thanks to developments in technology, although they are still audible as deliberately introduced artifacts in contemporary music production. Mark Fisher interprets these sonic errors as a marker of postmodernism: “Crackle unsettles the very distinction between surface and depth, between background and foreground. […] We hear that time is out of joint.” hiss promenade is an attempt to reinstate this distinction while reversing the relationship between the background and foreground, in which the musical ideas become the background noise, the by-product of this sonic refuse. That refuse, a signifier of nostalgia, invokes a desire for a past we never experienced, hearkening back to a time when people who grew up with vinyl records and radio were used to hearing these defects. We had learned to listen past the noise, ignoring it to hear the music. What are we listening past today?
Deniz Aslan, 1997
Music Department, University of Texas at Austin
Yowling Metals, 2024
I explore metallic sounds, aiming to create a form through sounds produced by various metal objects in diverse ways and the processes they undergo. The character of the piece emerges from the tension between the coherence of its sonic world and the constantly evolving approaches informed by the spatial and temporal attributes of the artificial three-dimensional space it inhabits.
REUSonance for trumpet solo and electronics (2023/2024)
Premiered in Reus, Spain.
Commissioned by the festival to write a new work for trumpet and electronics entitled “REUSonance”.
The title, “REUSonance,” blends the English term “resonance” with the name the City “Reus.”
Trumpet: Deniz Yakar
Hideki Kozakura (1970)
Professor Nagoya College of Music Japan
Echoes d’Istanbul ( 2024 )
Premiered in Istanbul.
A reflective composition drawn from distant years past, wherein I sought solace and mental clarity whilst indulging in coffee upon the balcony of an apartment, gazing over the serene expanse of the Bosphorus Strait.
Tolga Yayalar, 1973
Music Department, Bilkent UniversityYowling Metals, 2024
Impulse Impromptu (2021-24)
“Impulse Impromptu” is a series of electroacoustic compositions that delve into the sonic possibilities of traditional instruments through virtual improvisation. Each piece in the series reimagines an instrument as a sound-emitting object, exploring its transformative potential and challenging conventional perceptions of reality within the realm of music. A key aspect of the series is the incorporation of spatial models and High Order Ambisonics, which immerse the audience in an expansive sonic landscape, pushing the limits of traditional stereo imaging and inviting listeners to experience a multidimensional sonic experience.
Impulse Impromptu I: Kanun
The first piece in the series focuses on the Kanun. This piece grew out of extensive recordings and improvisations on the Kanun, allowing its sounds to lead to free associations and a broader sonic world than the other pieces in the repertoire. The Kanun’s resonant strings and unique timbres create a rich tapestry of sound, where some associations are clearly audible and recognizable, while others remain subtle and hidden.
Impulse Impromptu II: Zurna
The second piece in the series is the shortest and most austere, entirely based on a single Zurna sample I recorded 25 years ago. The Zurna, a traditional wind instrument, is known for its piercing and powerful sound. In this piece, I explore the organic and the synthetic, using the Zurna sample as the foundation for electronic improvisation. The sonic world of Impulse Impromptu II includes many artifacts that are not inherent to the original sound but are created psychoacoustically, challenging the listener to discern between the organic and the synthetic, blurring the lines between reality and illusion in the sonic realm.
Impulse Impromptu III: Koto
Impulse Impromptu II takes the Japanese instrument Koto out of its traditional context, reimagining it as a sound-emitting object. In this piece, I delve into the sonic essence of the Koto by separating its attack and resonance, using these elements as the basis for the composition. The piece creates an auditory experience as if the audience is inside a distorted Koto, enveloped by its transformed sonic qualities.
Öykü Sağlam, 2000
Department of Communication and Design, Bilkent University
Sağır Duymaz Uydurur (2024)
A melancholic day at santiye. Rainy weather and Saturday morning make you want to cry. It’s okay to talk to concrete. Baret feels safe, radio sounds fragile today. You don’t have a lover, you are just the site supervisor. Safety first cause no one got your back. Let the construction begin as if it’s not falling apart from the inside. Stay with us, stay in Beytepe, we do still have enough sari kula. It won’t last forever, everything comes to an end. See, we don’t work on Sundays, and eventually, someone will love you someday. Until I see you again, please take care.
Zeren İldoğan, 2000
Department of Communication and Design, Bilkent University
İkarus’un Düşüşü (The Fall of Icarus) (2024)
“The Fall of Icarus” is a blend of narrative and sound design, transforming the timeless mythological tale into an immersive sonic experience. This project, created as a part of the COMD-527 Creative Sound Design and Synthesis course’s final task, utilizes advanced sound mixing techniques to bring the mythological world to life by developing the traditional storytelling style thanks to Dolby Atmos.
King Minos asks the Cretan inventor Daidalos to build a labyrinth to imprison the monster Minetaurus, which is half bull and half human. People are sacrificed to this monster and the hero Theseus enters the labyrinth with the help of Daidalos and kills the monster. Thereupon, King Minos imprisons Daidalos and his son Icarus in a tower to punish him. Daidalos and Ikarus decide to escape by flying from the tower. The story follows the tragic fate of Icarus, whose daring escape from captivity leads to a poignant fall from the sky.
This project enables traditional storytelling to come together with sound design. The use of foley techniques combined with the spatial dynamics of Dolby Atmos, creates a three-dimensional audio environment that enhances the emotional and narrative depth of the story. It is a spatial journey through the rise and fall of Icarus..
Doğa Tansel, 2000
Department of Communication and Design, Bilkent University
Octagon (2024)
Octagon was composed in 2024 by Yunus Erdoğan and performed by progressive/art rock band The Wise. The song is to be featured on their upcoming album Wisdom Lost. It was mixed in Dolby Atmos for the course Creative Sound Design and Synthesis by the band’s guitarist, Doğa Tansel. It entails the story of a traveler trapped in a cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic wasteland. The song details how this post-apocalyptic land came to be and how the traveler thinks one should feel about its state. The piece uses a colorful blend of futuristic and atmospheric synthesizers and heavy, distorted guitar solos to create a powerful combination of electronic and rock music.
The Wise: Yunus Erdoğan – Vocals/Guitar, Buğrahan İlter – Bass/Vocals, Doğa Tansel – Guitar/Vocals, Yiğit Şenel – Drums
Emre Uğur, 2002
Department of Computer Science, Bilkent University, Bilkent University
Echoes of the Nile (2024)
Echoes of the Nile,” is an evocative auditory journey set along the mystical Nile River, brought to life through Dolby Atmos technology. The piece is divided into three parts, each contributing to a narrative of serene nature interrupted by conflict and its aftermath. The first scene immerses the audience in a calm and peaceful river setting, complete with the subtle dynamics of forest life and the gentle flow of water. The calm is artistically rendered using sounds of native wildlife and environmental ambience, setting a vivid stage for the narrative to unfold.In the second scene, the serenity is abruptly disturbed by the distant rumble of a helicopter, marking the onset of conflict. This escalation is further amplified by the increased activity of the forest’s inhabitants and unsettling sounds of movement and tension near the listener.The final act transitions into the echoes of war, where the soundscape is filled with the haunting resonances of conflict and a mournful Xaphoon melody that narrates the sorrow and devastation.
Adnan Şahin, 2000
Department of Communication and Design, Bilkent University, Bilkent University
7.8 (2024)
The technological advancement of Dolby Atmos and how spatial sound can be perceived is not only musical but also auditory. Thus, 7.8 is an auditory simulation of an imagined earthquake that demonstrates a very likely scenario of how an earthquake will lead if it is not taken seriously. Turkey’s horrific past and the strong prospect of future earthquakes feed this project with realism and trauma. Yet, this traumatic experience is not exclusive to the listeners but is a mirror of how past victims of earthquakes have felt and potentially will feel in the future. 7.8 pledges itself to auditorily display an earthquake experience to emphasize the victims and the danger awaiting.
P.S. – It is not recommended for those who have experienced an earthquake before or who have strong seismophobia (fear of earthquakes). It is only recommended for those who would like to experience a small portion of what an earthquake feels like.
Özkan Umutcan Bapbacı
Department of Music, Bilkent University
Nyogtha (2023-24)
The piece follows the rise and banishment of Nyogtha, derived from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Upon witnessing the rise and resurfacing of “the Dweller in Darkness”; from the earth down below to the sky up above, the piece is concluded with Nyogtha’s banishment, which is enclosed with a hymn, leading listeners back to the ordinary and the nature itself.
