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60 hours in Istanbul

It is with great nostalgic joy that we go back to 60 hours that we spent in Istanbul, feeling as if we are in an amusement park.
The occasion for the trip are two evenings in the Istanbul branch of Ilhan Ersahin’s club Nulbu. Two nights where his band Istanbul Sessions play together with French trumpet player Erik Truffaz. We have already discussed the concept of ‘’music of now’’ and the worldly sound, as well as the people contributing to this from all around the globe. You can find a reminder here.
The Istanbul clubs Nublu and Babylon were a part of the places, where you could go and hear this sound. Now Nublu Istanbul no longer exists, and the program of Babylon is far from what it was, but we go back about 10 years and remember the magic of Istanbul at that time. The city, that was full of life and a cosmopolitan spirit.
From the many Istanbul adventures, today we remember this one time with Ilhan Ersahin and Erik Truffaz at Nublu. It was a magical musical journey, and the two days and nights we spent in Istanbul back then were so full of adventures, music and color, everything blended into a two-day party.
Back then some of us arrived during the day, the rest – at night.
For us this Istanbul journey, like all before, began with a meal at our favorite local spot somewhere in Beyoglu. After a couple of beers, it was time for the concert. We were in a typical Istanbul haze, we didn’t feel the time pass.
The night group arrived with their suitcases straight at the club, so that they don’t miss the start of the concert. In the pause between the two parts we managed to bring back the suitcases and a very tired member of our group back to the apartment. An apartment that looked straight out of a Turkish soap opera – with three bedrooms and a common living room, where people walked in their socks, because they would take their shoes off at the door, and the characters keep appearing in the common area, or they chime in from their bedrooms. After dropping off the suitcases we returned back for the second part of the concert, where things went on until the morning and ended at the underground spot The Wakeup Call. We can’t remember the last hours of that day very well, we just remember our way home and the colorful streets that were full of LGBTQ people.
A little bit about the music. A couple of very iconic things happened that evening. We talked to Erik Truffaz about his choice of women and the mystery of Bulgarian voices. We were listening to the best music in the world, and Truffaz was complaining that four hours of playing live were a bit too much. We were going around bars with the musicians. Everything was alive and it was sparkling.
Many evenings in this hub of good taste and truthfulness followed. We truly felt each experience in our hearts. Evenings that might blend into mornings – a common dominating feeling – realness. These many evenings thought us about honesty and directness. Because we are all on the same side.
Today we remember those exact days with some songs, that reflect the energy and the emotion, but are far from the dive of this world live. Try to imagine the feeling of live contact, imagine a small club environment with this music in it. Plus directness.
We listen to the pulse of Istanbul and the world in the song Freedom, and in our minds we are counting ships on the Bosphorus, because this is pure poetry. The music will prove it.
Some examples of how colorful the world of Ilhan Ersahin can be found on our page, otherwise you can just listen the Nublu Records playlists, it says it all. Let’s respect artists in these difficult times.

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