INTERVIEW: Mehmet Aslan
Mehmet Aslan’s latest project, Auguri, marks a new chapter in his already impressive career, blending his Turkish heritage with the innovative sounds of electronica, ambient, and experimental music. The Swiss-born producer, who has made a name for himself within Berlin’s eclectic club scene, dives deep into environmental themes with this album, drawing inspiration from nature’s intricate rhythms. Created in part through a residency, Auguri touches on the interconnectedness of life on Earth, weaving diverse elements to highlight the fragility and beauty of the organic world. This release, produced in collaboration with Greek filmmaker Stratis Vogiatzis, reflects Aslan’s evolving artistic process, which leans toward a more conceptual approach to music-making. We had the chance to ask Aslan a few questions about his new release, offering a fascinating glimpse into his creative inner world. Let’s dive in.
Can you tell us where you are in the world? What do you love about that place? What do you hate? What does your daily life look like over there?
I am in Chios, Greece right now, and I love the slow life, nature, and the beaches here. It's hard to say what I hate, but maybe it's the sound of the cars when you are in the city.
My daily life looks like this: I sleep long, wake up, have breakfast, drive to the beach, enjoy the sea, and go for dinner at a nice hilltop restaurant.
Just how free time should be.
Tell us about your new album Auguri. How was it conceived?
Auguri was a project that originated from a residency in Lyon at Nuits Sonores during the Corona pandemic. So the struggles started there when we tried to work on the concept through video calls and emails.
The idea and concept of the residency were created with anthropologist Stratis Vogiatzis, with whom we became good friends. From that residency, most of the music was created and morphed into Auguri.
I am grateful to have delved into the more-than-human world and to have gotten inspired by mother nature. In that sense, it was a new way of making music, a more conceptual way for me.
When you work on new music, do you have a ritual or a routine? Tell us about your creative process.
I think I try to get my head as clear as possible, shifting away everything that clutters my mind. I need some free space so that something new can emerge.
I am constantly collecting ideas and inspirations which I note, whether it's on my laptop musically or with photos and text. Then at some point, I need to get into the routine of going to the studio and just working to see what comes.
I try not to judge what I'm doing until the next phase, where I choose what makes sense to work on.
Before you made music, what was a formative experience that shaped you as the artist you are today?
My first encounters with art and creative work came through DJing and graphic design.
First with DJing, without even thinking that it could be something creative; we were just playing music and collecting. But listening to a lot of music probably shaped the producing part later.
From graphic design, I learned how to work in a process-oriented [way], that the road is the final outcome. Not to focus too much on what is there in the end.
Instead, I learned to keep making things, bring them out into the world, and get better while finishing things.
What advice would you give yourself if you were starting today?
I would probably say not to listen too much to other people's opinions, and do what you think is right.
Cooperate as much as possible with other people; you can learn a lot by doing stuff together, rather than just hearing what you should do.
Are there any unusual sounds you’ve ever incorporated into your music?
That would probably be the experimental guitar sounds I worked on with Daniel Pankau for the song Spectra. We spent an afternoon trying to find some sounds for some of the songs on the album.
Also, during that process, I found some melodies with the guitar for Aura, which was unusual for me, as I'm normally not working much with guitar.
Another sound I could mention is samples of birds, which I tried to blend in with other sounds, so they're almost not recognizable. I was inspired by Cantus arcticus by Rautavaara there and loved how the music started with just bird sounds.