Cevdet Erek combines sound and design to create something volatile, visceral and political

Combining design, architecture and sound Cevdet Erek is a fascinating character that’s using his creativity to tell stories around Turkey’s political and social tumult and volatility.

Cevdet is based in his birthplace, Istanbul, and originally trained as an architect at Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, studying sound engineering and design and making music with his band Nekropsi (the word translates to “autopsy” in English). He has since been the artist in residence at Amsterdam’s Rijksakademie from 2005-2006, and has shown work at the Istanbul Biennial.

His latest work is Frenzy, two tracks from his soundtrack to a Turkish political thriller of the same name. Abluka Final and El-Fokurtu are brutal, visceral beings; as befits their soundtracking to a film about political violence. The textures and moments that build up layers and layers of noise make for an all-consuming listen, with a spacial quality that surely only an architect/noise artist could muster.

The release is out on Subtext, a label based in Berlin that works with artists that explore the boundaries between sound, spacial concerns and other artistic practices. The label has previously worked with artists including Emptyset, Paul Jebanasam and Roly Porter.