Track By Track: Konduku – Kiran
Nous'klaer Audio is a label which has moved from strength to strength since it first began releasing music back in 2013. A vast array of artistic talent has appeared on the imprint with the likes of David Vunk, Oceanic, Mattheis and more all having released music via the label. However, one distinct and defining element of their back catalogue is the fact that they have only released one album. This has been purposeful, the label is not for releasing unecessary noise and only the best is featured. However, this month marks the release of their second from a Rotterdam based producer with Turkish roots, Konduku. He has crafted a beautiful body of work which draws deep upon dub influences alongside influences from his own heritage and history. Titled 'Kiran' it is a special representation of musicality and a fine LP.
We invited him to take us through the release below:
A1| Altın Saat
Colour
Season
Late Summer
Inspiration
Altın Saat translated means Golden Hour in Turkish, the track that is at the start of the album, and also the hour that is either the beginning of the day or the end of the day, starting the night. It is a moment that, when not paid attention to, flows by quite unnoticed. Just like the golden hour, this one feels like a warm wool blanket pulled over, with its wall of sound. I feel like it’s more the second half of the Golden Hour, when the colours are at their deepest and warmest. As with a most of my tracks the main inspiration gradually becomes more clear for me when working on them. I usually start with a basic idea of what kind of track I want to make and during the creation it will resemble a certain feeling, memory or emotion. With its steady and minimal groove it draws you in more and more. Gradually hypnotizing and easing you. For me, Altın Saat feels like the perfect start for the album.
A2| Güneş
Colour
Season
Mid Summer, when the sun is at its warmest and is closest to earth
Inspiration
Güneş translates to the Sun. I thought of this track as kind of the opposite of the track Yağmur, whereas Güneş is the brighter and sunnier one. It is playful and uplifting but at the same time dangerous and serious as the sun. It somehow reminded me of the unrelentless heat in the middle of the summer in Cappadocia, the area in Turkey on which the whole album is inspired. Maybe we could see this one as my idea of of the soundtrack of a sundance ritual, haha
B1| Yeşil Ağaç
Colour
Season
Early Spring
Inspiration
A 5/4 groover with an innocent, happy feel to it which, to me, feels like the start of things, just like early spring. But just like spring, its rhythm is a bit unpredictable and cheeky. The title, Yeşil Ağaç or Green Tree, is a reference to early spring when Cappadocia suddenly starts to blossom and becomes green after a harsh and cold winter. The volcanic soil is really fertile and a little bit of rain quickly turns things to green. This is only for a short time as the summer sun will dry everything out, making all things green, dead and dusty again.
B2| Kızılırmak
Colour
Season
Summer
Inspiration
Kızılırmak, meaning Red River, is with 1.355 km the largest river in Turkey. It stretches from the Anatolian Highlands to the Black Sea. The river also flows through Avanos, the town where my Turkish family originates from. I have always wanted to swim in it, but it’s looks are deceiving. Though it seems fairly calm there is a strong undercurrent. Just like the river itself the track has a steady flow but it its the wildest track of the album.
C1| Gris vs Beyaz Küp
Colour
Season
Winter
Inspiration
Gris vs Beyaz Küp were actually two really minimal and sparse techno tracks that I combined. With both individual tracks I felt as if something was missing. The groove and sounds were good but after hearing them mixed together, I knew I had to combine the two into one, hence the versus in the tracks title. The main inspiration and backbone of the track was Gris, which means grey. During the making of the track I had the winter in Cappadocia in mind. Which is long, sluggish and cold but with a lot of moments of brightness when the sun shines and things feel a lot warmer than it actually is.
C2| Yağmur
Colour
Season
Spring, when within few weeks winter shifts to summer with a couple of storms.
Inspiration
Yağmur means Rain While making this track I remembered a trip I once made, driving from Nevşehir to Avanos on grayish and sombre day with some light rain. All of a sudden we where in the middle of really severe rainfall. The roads in Cappadocia are not build for these amounts of water and quickly they were flooded. It all came really unexpected, just like this track. When creating these tracks for the album I really wanted to make tracks with irregular time patterns. This particular one has a 7/8th rhythm, which is basically one of the most popular time signatures in Turkish music. The kicks and hit hats do not come as expected and will probably confuse a lot of people in a club when heard in between 4×4 tracks.
D1| Pembe Alan
Colour
Season
Late Spring
Inspiration
The volcanic pink limestone of Cappadocia is solid and soft at the same time, which this track is too. The colour shows its self best in or spring autumn, when the ground is still a bit wet. Especially after rainfall the colour can be beautifully deep. In the summer it changes to a faded very light pink mixed with beige. The tracks starts off quite powerful and later on, when the pads come in, it shows its softness. a 7/8th rhythm again, but this one feels slow and fast at the same time.
D2| Mavi Saat
Colour
Season
Summer
Inspiration
Mavi Saat meaning Blue Hour is the track that is the other half of Altın Saat. Just like the golden hour, it is an hour that goes by fast and is unnoticed by most. The gold is replaced by beautiful blue hue that stretches from light blue to dark, night blue. The start and the end of the night. While Altın Saat feels like a bright beginning, Mavi Saat is concluding, concluding day and night and the album itself. A calm and peaceful ending.
Buy HERE.
