Deniz Kurtel is a Turkish installation artist and electronic musician. She specializes in creating interactive sculptures featuring LED lights and mirrors and has participated in various festivals, exhibitions, and design weeks around the globe. Starting with her debut album in 2009, “Music Watching Over Me,” she has regularly toured as a musician. Her song "The L Word" made

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's Favorite Songs of 2011. Working both in Berlin and Brooklyn, she is in the process of further integrating her art and light installations into her live performances.

Background

Born in Izmir,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, Deniz Kurtel first developed an interest in LED installations and experimental electronic music while studying in the United States. She received her bachelor's degrees at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in economics and sociology. She received her master's degrees in policy analysis from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and in quantitative analysis from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She became heavily involved in the Wolf + Lamb events at the Marcy Hotel in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

, and also began releasing music on Crosstown Rebels. Since then she has continued to tour with her music, and has developed a mobile sound and Light installation, known as the Introspectacular, which she has taken to multiple festivals throughout the US and Europe. Installations designed and built by Deniz Kurtel have shown at

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...

, MUTEK, and 3rd Ward, among other locations. She has performed at festivals and club venues including

Ultra Music Festival Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that takes place during March in Miami, Florida, United States. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. It was first held on Miami Beach, ...

Detroit Electronic Music Festival Movement Electronic Music Festival is an annual electronic dance music event held in the birthplace of Techno, Detroit, each Memorial Day weekend since 2006. Previous electronic music festivals held at Hart Plaza on Memorial Day weekend inclu ...

The BPM Festival The BPM Festival is an annual electronic music festival, held in Portimão, Portugal. History The BPM Festival is an annual ten day and night electronic music festival, founded by Craig Pettigrew the genius, held in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. BPM ...

Sónar Sónar is a festival dedicated to music, creativity and technology, founded in Barcelona in 1994 by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergi Caballero. The festival has been divided into two parts since its inception: Sónar by Day and Sónar b ...

Boiler Room (music project) Boiler Room, a division of DICE, is an online music broadcasting and promotional platform based in London, UK. They commission and stream music sessions around the world. Founded in London in 2010, Boiler Room has now hosted shows in around 100 ...

Decibel Festival Decibel Festival was an annual music and digital arts festival in Seattle, launched in 2004 by Sean Horton and a team of volunteer staff. The Decibel Festival was dedicated to live electronic music performance, visual arts, and new media. Histor ...

, Pacha New York,

The Warehouse Project The Warehouse Project is a series of club nights organised in Greater Manchester, England, since 2006. Unlike most other clubs, it has a limited seasonal approach rather than running all year. Each year's season runs from September through to New ...

Sankeys Sankeys is a nightclub franchise with its first nightclub in Ancoats, Manchester, United Kingdom. The company formerly operated a nightclub in Playa d’en Bossa, Ibiza and opened a New York City venue in 2013. Sankeys Manchester Sankeys f ...

Berghain Berghain () is a nightclub in Berlin, Germany. It is named after its location near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain in Berlin, and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station.

Panorama Bar,

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

, Watergate,

Winter Music Conference The Winter Music Conference (WMC) is a week-long electronic music conference, held every March in Miami Beach, Florida, United States since 1985. It is also known as the premiere platform for electronic dance music. The conference brings togeth ...

, and Avalon Hollywood. Kurtel has both musically performed and created installations for Burning Man, De la Guarda,

Fabric (club) Fabric (stylized as fabric) is a nightclub in Farringdon, London, England. Founded in 1999 on Charterhouse Street opposite Smithfield Market, the club was voted World Number 1 Club in DJ Magazine's "Top 100 Clubs Poll" in 2007 and 2008 and ra ...

, and Luci d’ Artista. In addition to her work with the musical duo Wolf + Lamb, she has also collaborated with

Art Department Art department in filmmaking terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall ...

Guy Gerber Guy Avraham Gerber (born 1974 in Holon, near Tel Aviv) is an Israeli electronic DJ/producer and musician who works in the underground techno scene. His projects range from collaborating with hip hop figure Puff Daddy, to starting a left-field n ...

, Jamie Jones, and Soul Clap.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Music Watching Over Me'' (Crosstown Rebels, 2011) * ''The Way We Live'' (Wolf+Lamb Records, 2012)

References

External links

Official website

Deniz Kurtel on Residential Advisor
Resident Advisor * http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=9016 Resident Advisor
Deniz Kurtel Switch on the Night Documentary

Deniz Kurtel DJ Boiler Room Set

Deniz Kurtel on NPR

Deniz Kurtel on BeatPort
* http://www.magneticmag.com/2012/05/artistic-symbiosis-how-deniz-kurtels-music-and-art-feed-each-other/ Magnetic Magazine * http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=11064 Resident Advisor * https://www.vice.com/read/deniz-kurtel-and-the-travelig-introspectacular-led-experience

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtel, Deniz Living people 20th-century women artists Turkish electronic musicians Year of birth missing (living people) Georgetown University alumni New York University alumni Columbia University alumni Musicians from İzmir