The last time we spoke to Kaan Duzarat, the resident of Turkish club minimüzikhol, he was taking us around his very own neighbourhood. It quickly became our new favourite place, and we couldn’t pass up the chance to take another trip and tap into the brains behind one of Istanbul’s best underground clubs.
Here, Kaan digs deep, letting us in on the club that he and a few friends came to create.
“minimüzikhol is my home. When I’m there, I feel like I’m home. Years before its opening in 2009, the crew was running the legendary bar and club Godet on Istiklal Street between 2001-2004, and Godet Disko between 2004-2006. All of these spots were really important for the music scene both in Istanbul and Turkey. Both have their own persona, and played a strong role in shaping the city’s unique sound and cultural life — and they were genuine. They’ve always been connected to the local roots, as well as being forward thinking, open minded and peaceful in attitude.
“2004 was the year. I was a 24-year-old bedroom DJ collecting records and playing for friends at home. Godet was one of the clubs we would go to regularly back then. (((emre))), DJ Ozan, Tutan, Macit, Cervus, Ismet (RIP) and Baris K were playing there on rotation. I wasn’t DJing at any clubs back then; I was only a guy in the crowd. Then I met with Cervus and Fuchs one day, and they asked if I wanted to work at their new FM radio station Dinamo 103.8 FM. I was really surprised and said yes without question. That’s how it all started.”
“I used to work within a radio production department, and also produced my own weekly radio show called Kompozit. The scene’s best DJs would come play and I met some really nice people there. It was like school for me. After that, I had the chance to play in Istanbul clubs. I would produce my own music at the station’s studio when there was no work to do. I was listening to the best music in the city, meeting the coolest and nicest DJs and making own tracks. What else did I need?
“They’ve always been connected to the local roots, as well as being forward thinking, open minded and peaceful in attitude.”
“2004-2005. These were the years I met the crew, and local hero and guru Minas Balcioglu. He’s the man behind the idea of minimüzikhol — the little venue with big, big music. This is a collective, not a one man thing. The Red Room, Godet Douche, Penthouse, Edgar, Godet and now minimüzikhol; which were all movements by local collective S.O.A.P. System.
“By this point, I still wasn’t playing there. It wasn’t that easy. Between 2004-2008, I mostly played at Crystal. That was followed by Otto between 2009-2012, where I also did the bookings and musical direction. We got closer with the team around 2009, after the opening of minimüzikhol. I have been playing there ever since, hosting Vesvese’li Persembe with our label and local collective Vesvese and FOC Edits.”
“We had some amazing nights together. I played some gigs that’ll go down in history with Acid Pauli, Moodymann, Bodycode, Jacques Renault, Flako, Matt Karmil, Auterkic, Moscoman, Mark E, Al Dobson Jr., Lawrence, Brennan Green and locals Tutan, Baris K, Minibashekim, Ave Astra, Sarp Yilmaz, Eren Eren, Kerem Akdag, Arman Akinci, Tufan Demir, Dogukan Ires and many more.
“This mix was recorded last weekend. Seco was playing funk records like a ninja. I jumped into the booth right after “Jump Around” had been dropped, and played this mix. Birgay from Wake Up Call and Suma crew played after me, and it was his ‘good luck and farewell’ gig in Istanbul before moving to Berlin this week.”
Tune in next time for our last ever Residents’ Hour from Copenhagen’s notorious club Culture Box.