As Shantel gears up for another round of Istanbul concerts at Babylon, Esen Boyacigiller chatted with him about his latest album, Planet Paprika, and why he’s not a spokesperson for gypsy music, despite what you might think.

Hi Shantel! How are you?

You are disturbing me on my holiday! (laughs). I will do this only for Time Out Istanbul, you should know!

 

Well, that’s what we like to hear! Where are you right now?

I’m actually in the south of Italy, near Naples. I have a very nice house here and I will perform as well- it is nice when I can combine work with holiday.

 

Please tell us about the new album, ‘Planet Paprika’. What were you inspired by? How is this album different from your previous?

I think it’s a continuation of the sound I have been making; especially with ‘Disco Partisan’, it was the first time that this kind of sound was going fast forward into a kind of pop rock surrounding. Nobody really expected this in the beginning. People from the label or distribution or even the media were skeptical. For me it’s like, ‘ok guys, I’m playing all around Europe, or the world, almost every night, and I see and feel the audience and they want more’; they love this dynamic music and this sound. ‘Paprika’ is the continuation of this kind of music. (Pauses) To continue the creative process on the sound is a bit of a political statement…I don’t want to deal with these politics: the main questions people are asking is ‘where are you coming from?’ ‘we hear your music, but we don’t know where you are coming from’. If you compare it to the usual Anglo-American hip-hop artist or rock group, I’m a bit like an exotic alien...it’s music, why does it matter (where I come from)?

 

You mean, people expect you to be representing a type of music, but you don’t want to be responsible for that, for those politics.

        For me it was really important to say, I’m just doing music, I don’t want this discussion about representing, I’m not interested in this. We (Germany) have a very mixed up, mosaic society and I’m very proud of this; we have a strong Turkish population in Germany. What I want to say is, it’s about the character and human beings and not the nationality and this music that I’m doing is like my experience with this for the last few years. I can see everywhere I go it doesn’t matter; the sound is uniting the different cultures; I can play somewhere in the north of Europe, Norway or Sweden and it’ll attract the same emotions as it will in the south of Europe. This is a great phenomenon. It’s not connected to any music scene, there doesn’t need to be any genre.

        Music is divided into so many different groups and scenes today, and there aren’t a lot of genres that have the ability to unite people from different backgrounds. ‘Paprika’ is also a provocation to say to those people who care about that weird superficial genre they can just join our planet, the music, you don’t need a visa, a passport, you don’t need a national specific thing to enjoy the music. It has an effect, like a kind of statement against the typical Anglo-American rock star stereotype. We only have a few superstars right now, worldwide, and that’s it.

        The music industry is going down, it’s a big crisis. All the independent structure is not happening anymore, so you know it’s important to show, ok, here is something that is still alive, because it takes it’s energy from the southeast, but we’re not afraid of using electronic elements.

 

You covered Ciguli’s ‘Binnaz’ on this album. Where did this idea come from? Did you really like the song when you first listened to it? You also used samples from ‘Ada Sahillerinde Bekliyorum’. Did your producer or manager suggest you listen to it? Or did you find it on your own?

         The thing is, one phenomena I’m always confronted with is, I see melodies or hear traditional songs, elements especially in southeastern Europe, which are somehow bodiless. ‘Binnaz’ is a different story...but with ‘ada sahillerinde’, there is an Arab version, and the point is, we don’t know who used it first. You have to know in Germany or Austria, people don’t know this music, it’s vanishing away, maybe not for Turkish people, but for northwest Europe. After the success of ‘Disco Partisan’, I realized I don’t want it vanishing away. If I collect it...put it away and do a new version of it, and play around with it...it won’t disappear.

       Regarding the ‘Binnaz’ song it’s a bit the same, it’s a very unique masterpiece, and it’s kind of suspicious: this Ciguli guy he’s not in Turkey anymore. There is this kind of story with him, and his Bulgarian roots, and so we don’t know what his status is. Some people say there was a problem with Mafia guys…it’s a bit of a delicate subject and I like the story around it.

 

Any plans to collaborate with Turkish artists?

It would be great to do a collaboration in the future. I like it when it’s with people I can work with and exchange with; I also did this with Nil Karaibrahimgil. She did a vocal performance on a song I am working on, and we did it at the very last moment, so it isn’t on the album.

 

Will she perhaps join you onstage at Babylon?

(Long pause) It’s an option for sure.

 

You’ve performed a lot in Turkey. Where and when was your best performance?

Well basically I can say playing in Istanbul is always a big, big experience. I have a special connection to the crowd somehow...

 

Why do you think that is?

I think it’s a kind of secret we cannot decipher or reconstruct. Even when I was playing in some places in Adana, it’s always very good -good shows, good people- surprising for sure. Sometimes the place will be a bit fancy, like a disco with nice tables and it’s a bit sophisticated, which is when I like to bring a bit of chaos! So the more sophisticated it looks, the more chaos I’m bringing over there. In Germany maybe they would call the police immediately, but here people love to have a good time.

 

Is it hard having a family and being in this industry?

It depends on the situation of course. Working as a musician it’s always difficult to combine it with private life. There is also no recipe. And I know a lot of people in this business that have private problems because they are on tour all the time...

 

Does the audience reaction here make you that much more enthusiastic?

The thing is, first of all, I really love what I’m doing, and when I feel that I don’t enjoy being on stage or performing, then I will stop immediately. I know sometimes even when the people don’t know you, it could be a bit hard or difficult if there is no immediate reaction. For myself I skip expectations. I go onstage, I play live or as a DJ, and I don’t care what is going on. I don’t want to count on it. You’re not going on stage to fish for compliments and because you are everyone’s darling, it’s work and I get up there and do my work.

 

But you are Istanbul’s darling…

It is nice of course to be appreciated but you cannot depend on it.

 

What kind of music do you listen to?

I’m very open to all kinds of music, except very masculine music, which is not really my cup of tea. At the moment I’m listening to ’50s rockabilly stuff, things from Elvis to Buddy Holly, Rob Orbison...very old school kind of rhythm and blues and guitar-heavy with harmonies.

 

Do you find yourself thinking of how to incorporate that style of music into your own? When you listen to music, in other words, do you automatically think of what elements you like and what you can use yourself? 

I think basically whatever I’m listening to or doing by myself, I don’t make a difference between the styles. I think a good song is a good song; doesn’t matter if it’s Turkish language, or Arabesque, or American, or rhythm and blues. A good song is a good song, and you always learn from new songs. And I always notice things small things like, ‘how many changes here? there is a drama in the song, why is that?’ so I’m always doing that. This job, you always learn, there is never a point when you say now I’m number one; it’s totally not like that, you have to always reset and start again. Keep your ears and eyes open.

 

Ok, now a fun question: what are the 3 things you must do every time you come to Istanbul? The 3 things you must see, do, eat, before you can leave…

First, I go to the barber. The best barbers are the Turkish ones. I have had so many choices, but these guys are number one. I want them to preserve the style, no compromise, no bullshit, forever.

Second, I’m a big fan of meze...

 

Oh, do you like rakı?

No, I’m not a heavy drinker. I like when people get drunk around me, but I’m not a big drinker. But the appetizers, the meze, are super.

The third thing would have to be presents. I know so many people around the world, I like to bring back interesting gifts.

 

Do you go to the bazaar?

No, I am not looking for the typical touristy souvenirs. Once I found a very good kind of antique shop.

 

Have you ever been to the street in Tünel that sells musical instruments?

Yes! I bought a lot of instruments...a violin, percussion, much more.