Sinemis: The ‘Monday Is OK’ Mix

Music

Sine Buyuka has found a perfect remedy for a gloomy Monday.

Fireplace videos, her dog and fresh ginger tea feature in the London-based Circassian-Turkish producer’s R&R routine, but today it’s soundtracked by her own soothing blend of ambient sonics from across the world.

Sine wears many different hats: she’s a DJ, label owner of Injazero, ex-music journalist, Resonance Extra resident, Guildhall School of Music and Drama graduate and a producer, the latter of which she’s now doing under the moniker Sinemis.

This new project recently came to life with the release of Dua, an album that came at a life-changing time for Sine. Last year she began feeling unwell, but at the time her symptoms weren’t diagnosable and gradually they worsened, resulting in her being admitted to A&E whilst visiting her family in Turkey. She eventually had surgery and has been on the road to physical and emotional recovery this year, a period that has had a profound affect on her musical output.

Drawing inspiration from Sufi music – traditional ritualistic music that are used to accompany ancient sema ceremonies native to her home of Turkey – the compositions are meditative and gentle, brought into the contemporary sphere by electronic soundscapes, ambient atmospheres and field recordings.

To celebrate the release of the record, she offers up a mix of ambient vibrations plucked from Turkey, the Middle East, North and East Africa and the West…

Ransom Note · Sinemis: The 'Monday Is OK' Mix

Please introduce yourself… Who are you, where are you, what are you?

Sine, short for Sinemis. Circassian-Turkish. Hopefully a kind human. Graduate student, label owner, music producer, ex-music journalist, DJ.

Tell us about the Monday mixtape you’ve put together for us.

It’s a mixtape that consists of mostly ambient sounds from Turkey and the Middle East, North and East Africa and the West.

If it were to be drawn what would it look like?

Anything by Dana Awartani.

If it were a food what would it be?

Veggie musakka.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

On a rainy Monday.

What should we be wearing?

Something light in fabric but dark in colour.

Where was it recorded?

In London, in my kitchen.

Are you on the same wavelength as the boomtown rats or do you actually like Mondays?

Didn’t realize there were people who liked Mondays.

Who got you hooked on music?

I got hooked on my own.

What was the first record you heard and how did it make you feel?

Probably Sezen Aksu Söylüyor when I was a kid. It made me feel both joyous and sad.

What were the first and last records you bought?

I remember asking my father to get me some sort of Now compilation as a kid! I think the first album I bought with my own money was Nirvana’s In Utero. Last one was Loraine James’ Building Something Beautiful For Me.

What are you obsessed with at the moment?

A vintage Roland System 100m.

If you could travel in time…where in time would you go? Why?

Undecided between heading to 19^th century England to have a chat with Charlotte Brontë and get my books signed or to the 70s to collect some now vintage synths. Whilst I’m at it, would be great to see some amazing bands too.

Some self help questions for a Monday…

Am I excited to dive into the challenges that I have lined up for the week?

Not excited but ready.

Am I looking forward to engaging with the people I am meeting or working with?

That I am. One of the perks of having a strict policy of working with people I like…

Am I going to my dream job?

Yes.

Am I being compensated fairly for the value I bring to my job?

No. Probably very few people in independent music are.

Do I feel energised, rested, and confident?

Confident that I can overcome the challenges but exhausted, nevertheless.

If you were trapped on a desert island with one other person, who would you choose? How long would it be before you eat them?

Either my friend Merve Toy who is the most upbeat person ever or Deniz Harut who is very resourceful. I don’t eat meat so probably would eat neither.

Your doctor says you need more exercise….what do you take up for exercise?

Dog walking.

What’s your answer to everything?

Food.

Anything else we need to discuss?

How a combination of fireplace videos, fresh ginger tea, homework’s Bai San candle, a wool blanket and, most importantly, my dog are now making my gloomy Mondays much less so.

Tracklist
Eomac – Prayer Pt.
Ixuol – InTec_06
Venus Ex Machina – The Abyss
FRKTL – Sidereal II
Faten Kanaan – Mist & Madrigal
A Lily – Balafon Heart
Thomas Ragsdale – Empty Theatre
Koray Kantarcıoğlu – Lamba Pr 01 / 165530
Patricia Wolf – A Conversation with My Innocence
Jerusalem in My Heart – Qalaq 7 (w-Tim Hecker)
Hüma Utku – Light of All Lights
Volkan İncüvez – Big Bang / GRB 090423
KMRU – Guise
Saba Alizadeh – Blood City
Burhan Öçal & Pete Namlook – Yenilik, Pt. 5
Night Gestalt – Night on Earth (feat. Behdad Babaei)
Sinemis – Flow