In the summer of 2026 I was fortunate enough to see the film Sound Dreams of Istanbul made by Anil Eraslan. It was my first introduction to the impressive body of work by this multi-talented artist. Cellist and improviser Anıl Eraslan has initiated a great variety of musical projects between Berlin, Strasbourg, and Istanbul, but also made Sound Dreams of Istanbul, his first feature-length documentary film on Istanbul’s free improvisation scene, a very poetic work, and a must for sound fanatics.

The album contains 10 tracks (average length around 2:30 minutes) made out of improvisations recorded in different times and places independently, then digitally joined and re-edited to evolve into a collage within a novel composition. The artists were forced to work remotely due to the pandemic. The result is lovely, dynamic, and everything you could possibly imagine when you look at the line-up below. Introducing, in Anil’s words “improvisers who know each other well and already in contact in different groups, there are many common grounds that our motivations meet, and a specifically ‘Istanbuler’ synergy emerges in our sounds and voices.” Nice cover Art by Joel Grip.

Players:

• Sumru Ağıryürüyen – voice, mandolin
• Şevket Akıncı – guitar, voice
• Orçun Baştürk – synth, voice
• Eda Er – synth, voice
• Anıl Eraslan – cello, compositions
• Volkan Ergen – percussion
• Elif Canfeza Gündüz – kemençe
• Zeynep Ayşe Hatipoğlu – cello
• Zeynep Kaya – voice, synth
• Alper Maral – bass trombone
• Merve Salgar – tanbur
• Tolga Tüzün – pia

Recorded by:

Gökhan Deneç in Tarabya Cultural Academy, Sinan Sakızlı in Hayyam Studios

Volkan Ergen, Eda Er, Zeynep Kaya, Orçun Baştürk at their homes in Istanbul, August 2020