Erdem Helvacioglu (born May 22, 1975 in

Bursa, Turkey ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

) is an

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

ian from

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

. He has collaborated with artists

Mick Karn Andonis Michaelides (Greek: Αντώνης Μιχαηλίδης; 24 July 1958 – 4 January 2011), better known as Mick Karn, was an English-Cypriot musician and songwriter who rose to fame as the bassist for the art rock/ new wave band Japan. H ...

Kevin Moore Kevin Moore (born May 26, 1967) is an American keyboardist, composer, and founder of the Chroma Key music project. He is also a former member of the American progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater, co-founder of the progressive rock superg ...

, John Wilson, Kazuya Ishigami, and Saadet Turkoz. In addition to his work as an electronic musician, Erdem also composes music for theatre, film and multimedia productions, and produces for popular and rock music bands in Turkey. He has received numerous international awards including prizes from the

Luigi Russolo Luigi Carlo Filippo Russolo (30 April 1885 – 4 February 1947) was an Italian Futurist painter, composer, builder of experimental musical instruments, and the author of the manifesto ''The Art of Noises'' (1913). He is often regarded as one of ...

and Insulae Electronicae Electroacoustic Music Competitions.

Career

The first commercial release to feature Erdem's music was the self-titled debut album by symphonic rock band Too Much. Erdem was a founding member, guitar player and songwriter for Too Much. The album was recorded and released into the

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, mainstream popular music culture. Underground music is intimately tied to popular music culture as a whole, so there are important tensions within underground ...

scene in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 1993, while Erdem was still in high school. Erdem began composing electronic music pieces while he was studying

electroacoustic music Electroacoustic music is a genre of popular and Western art music in which composers use technology to manipulate the timbres of acoustic sounds, sometimes by using audio signal processing, such as reverb or harmonizing, on acoustical instrumen ...

composition and

sound engineering An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...

. His work became noted in international electronic music circles and in time his compositions have been included in several prestigious electronic music festivals such as the San Francisco Tape Music Festival, Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music, Seoul International Computer Music Festival, Musica Viva Festival, Primavera en La Habana and Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival. Erdem also won awards for his compositions from the

, Insulae Electronicae and MUSICA NOVA Electroacoustic Music Competitions. As an electronic music artist, Erdem released his first album in 2003. The album, entitled ''A Walk Through The Bazaar'' was released by

Locust Music Locust Music was a Chicago-based independent record label founded in 2001 in music, 2001. See also

* List of record labels Record labels established in 2001 American independent record labels Companies based in Chicago {{US-independent-r ...

as part of the MetLife series. The album opens with a field recording of an open-air marketplace in Istanbul, capturing the everyday sounds in the bazaar, including street vendors, market customers, cell phones, children and traditional music played in the background. The second and final track of the album features a remix of the field recording with some electronic effects. The album achieved critical acclaim from esteemed music publications, including ''The Wire'' magazine, Splendid,

Pitchforkmedia ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

and

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Erdem's second album was ''Altered Realities'', released by New Albion Records in 2006. His first album to receive wide release, ''Altered Realities'' consists of seven instrumental pieces, combining solo acoustic guitar melodies and live electronics. ''Altered Realities'' was well received in electronic music circles, with its live recording technique featured in music publications, including ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...

'' (August 2007), '' Gramaphone, Tapeop, World1 Music,

Cyclic Defrost ''Cyclic Defrost'' is an Australian specialist electronic music magazine. It was founded and edited by Sebastian Chan, with current editors Bob Baker Fish, Chris Downton and Peter Hollo. It covers independent electronic music, avant-rock, experim ...

,'' and ''Cuemix'' magazines. The album has made the Top Ten lists of three international magazines: ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', ''Textura'', and ''Cyclic Defrost'', as one of the Best of 2007. The distinctive album forges a unique blend of classical, ambient, jazz, folk genres, and electroacoustic styles. Erdem recorded all of the compositions on the album in real-time, directly to DAT ( Digital Audio Tape) without any overdubs, mixing, editing, post-processing, or the use of previously recorded material. All of the textures were created by the acoustic guitar played live and the signal of which was processed live. Erdem cites electric guitar players such as

David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...

and

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

, Michael Hedges's the acoustic style,

Harold Budd Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936December 8, 2020) was an American composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimalist and avant-garde scene of Southern California in the l ...

and

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...

as specific influences for ''Altered Realities''. Erdem's third album ''Wounded Breath'' was released in USA by Aucourant Records in December 2008. The album includes 5 of his prizewinning electroacoustic pieces which he had performed at prestigious contemporary festivals all around the world along with composers such as Paul Lansky and

Morton Subotnick Morton Subotnick (born April 14, 1933) is an American composer of electronic music, best known for his 1967 composition '' Silver Apples of the Moon'', the first electronic work commissioned by a record company, Nonesuch. He was one of the foun ...

. In 2008, Erdem was commissioned by Bang On A Can-All Stars, one of the most well known New Music Ensembles, to compose a piece, which premiered at

Merkin Hall Merkin Hall is a 449-seat concert hall in Manhattan, New York City. The hall, named in honor of Hermann and Ursula Merkin, is part of the Kaufman Music Center, a complex that includes the Lucy Moses School, a community arts school, and the Speci ...

, New York on 13 February 2008. Additionally, his compositions have been included on various labels like chmafu nocords,

vox novus Vox Novus is a New York City-based organization consisting of composers, musicians, and music enthusiasts which presents and supports new music. Vox Novus was founded by Robert Voisey to promote contemporary composers in 2000. This organization ...

, quiet American, and OAR for various compilation albums, such as "ctrl-alt-del", which also included works by Scanner,

Kim Cascone Kim Cascone (December 21, 1955) is an Italian American composer of electronic music who is known for his releases in the ambient, drone, industrial and electro-acoustic genre on his own record label, Silent Records. Biography In 1989 Casco ...

and Merzbow. He has released the album ''Sub City 2064'' with Per Boysen, in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. This work has been included in the “Best 20 albums of 2010” list on ''

Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of all its published con ...

'' and ''Perfect Sound Forever'' magazines. The album has also been on the “Guitar Player Editors’ Top 3 CDs" list on the October 2010 issue. Helvacioglu has released the duo album ''Black Falcon'' with the Australian sound artist Ros Bandt in December 2010. This album has been included in the “Best albums of 2011” list" in the Blogcritics magazine. He has also released another duo album ''Resonating Universes'' in August 2011, this time with the Turkish harpist Sirin Pancaroglu. His solo sound installation exhibition “Freedom to the Black” has been premiered at ARTER in February 2012 and a book with the same title which includes the cd of the piece has been published. His album ''Eleven Short Stories'' which consists of his solo prepared piano pieces has been released by the American label

Innova Records Innova Recordings is the independent record label of the non-profit American Composers Forum based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1982 to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minnesot ...

in March 2012. His solo album ''Timeless Waves'' has been released in April 2012 by the prestigious contemporary electronic music label Sub Rosa Records. Other albums of him that have been released in 2012 are ''Erlik Khan'' (with Bruce Tovsky), ''Planet X'' (with Ulrich Mertin) and ''Fields and Fences'' (with Bill Walker) celebrating the American rural west which was featured with a long article in the ''Guitar Player'' magazine 2012 Holiday issue. He has composed music for various film, theatre and multimedia productions. He has received "The Best Original Soundtrack" award at the 2007 Mostramundo Film Festival for his work on the movie '' Poyraz'' which was chosen for the

2006 Cannes Film Festival The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the ...

. Outside of his work as an electronic musician and film composer, Erdem has also produced rock, pop and world music albums for artists such as

Rashit Rashit is a Turkish punk rock band founded in Istanbul in 1993 by Tolga Özbey (guitar), Adem Kurt (vocals), Murat Yeşil (bass) and Gökhan Tunçişler (drums). They are considered to be the first major local representative of punk rock and insp ...

, Timucin Esen, Mehmet Akbas etc. Currently Helvacioglu has been working on the new collaborative album with

Nathan Larson Nathan Larson may refer to: *Nathan Larson (musician), American musician * Nathan Larson (criminal), American white supremacist and convicted felon See also *Nate Larson Nate Larson (born March 16, 1978) is a Baltimore-based artist and photograph ...

Nina Persson Nina Elisabet Persson (; born 6 September 1974) is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish rock band The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and one under her own name, and has also appeared as a ...

and also working on his new solo pieces.

Discography

"A Walk Through the Bazaar", Locustmusic, 2003 "Altered Realities", New Albion, 2006 "Wounded Breath", Aucourant, 2008 "Spectra: Guitar in the 21st Century",

Quiet Design Quiet Design is an independent music and sound art label based in Austin,TX and founded in 2007. Owned and curated by composers Mike Vernusky and Cory Allen, Quiet Design has released work by over 30 artists from 10 countries. It has been said o ...

, 2009 "Sub City 2064" with Per Boysen, self-release, 2010 "Black Falcon" with Ros Bandt, Pozitif Muzik, 2010 "Resonating Universes" with Sirin Pancaroglu,

Sargasso Records Sargasso is a London-based record label and live events promotion company founded by Daniel Biro. It was established 1993 and integrated into Esfor Limited in 2008. It specialises in mostly avant garde, innovative and contemporary experimental m ...

, 2011 "Freedom to the Black", ARTER, 2012 "Timeless Waves", Sub Rosa, 2012 "Eleven Short Stories", Innova, 2012 "Erlik Khan", with Bruce Tovsky, Periphery, 2012 "Planet X", with Ulrich Mertin, Innova, 2012 "Fields and Fences" with Bill Walker, Far East West, 2012 "Esther's Memory" with Stuart Gerber, Aucourant, 2013 "Eleven Short Stories Volume 2", Innova, 2013

Career

Discography

References

External links