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Warm-up for Newcomer Day 2021

ifa Gallery Berlin at 30
Past --> Present 
Episode 02 feat. Övül Ö. Durmuşoğlu, Vasif Kortun and Banu Çiçek Tülü

Concept: Sandra Teitge
Transcript: https://untietotie.org/media-link/past-present-2/

Past --> Present brings together artistic and curatorial positions associated with the ifa-gallery since its founding in 1991. Using the gallery’s program as a reference point, I will converse with a group of guests about ifa’s general ethos and research interests in the early 90s and today. 
What’s the relevance of cultural institutions that foster artistic & cultural exchange, such as ifa, back then and now (especially in times of rising nationalism and cultural isolation)? 

In contrast to many West German cultural institutions of the time, the ifa Gallery Berlin concentrated early, throughout the 1990s, on collaborations with artists and curators from Eastern and Southern Europe. How have artistic approaches, curatorial practices and working methods changed over the years? And what is the situation regarding public space, which historically has been more actively incorporated into artistic practices in Eastern and Southern Europe? 
This podcast links these and similar questions to wider contemporary issues and offers a podium to artists and cultural practitioners affiliated with ifa at some point in their career. 

For the second episode of Past –> Present, Sandra Teitge speaks with Berlin-based curator, writer, and educator Övül Ö. Durmusoglu and Vasif Kortun, one of the most influential figures in the Turkish and, in fact, international art and cultural scene. The two of them will converse about their respective work with and beyond ifa in Germany and Turkey; their exchange is accompanied by an audio contribution by the Berlin-based musician and artist Banu Çiçek Tülü.

Music: Kolbeinn Hugi
Sound editing: Kolbeinn Hugi

Past --> Present, Episode 02 feat. Övül Ö. Durmuşoğlu, Vasif Kortun and Banu Çiçek Tülü

Signals and Hums 3D Audio

@Banusound - TransSoundScapes LP

South-east Turkey born DJ, sound artist and producer Banu uses music as a political tool. For her, the strong message carried through sound is a vehicle to express emotions as well as a means of fighting against oppression. Using participation, social design, ecology, feminist and queer theory to create multimedia installations with sound as a main element, Banu‘s practice is closer to contemporary art and activist spaces than the club realm.

Banu‘s debut album TransSoundScapes is an exercise in female solidarity between her as a migrant woman and her sisters from the trans community, where an artist from one marginalised group is showing support towards her trans sisters, using her platform to help them amplify their voices and building a bridge towards a mutual understanding of femininity.

Conceptually, TransSoundScapes comes in continuation of Banu‘s previous research-based work, using music as a positive tool for change while working with various marginalised communities. The album originated from the very real experience of being confronted with verbal harassment in Berlin on a daily basis, particularly aimed at her transfeminine friends and companions. As a queer woman of Turkish and Kurdish origin, Banu did not only observe the verbal aggression directed at her friends, but also understood most of the insults shouted in languages such as Arabic. Seeing how she got significantly more verbal violence directed at them when in company of trans people made a lasting impression on her, so she wanted to try and use her relative privilege to amplify transfeminine voices through her music.

Coming from a very conservative family, making music has been her lifelong dream. It was the moment she had the opportunity to work with the iconic Arp 2600 synthesiser (a younger sibling to Eliane Radigue‘s infamous 2500 machine) that all her disparate interests came into place to create an empowering soundscape with the aid of analogue drum machines. TransSoundScapes has a very full, porous sound, where every element that comes into play sounds soft yet clear. Across the 7 tracks, Banu conjures pounding subterraneous bassy techno („Surgery“), slithering tentacular EBM („First Time“) and pulsating cavernous soundscapes („Harem“), where oversized dance-floor elements are woven with poetic spoken word passages, resulting in sensusous yet political anthems. Banu artfully merges loosely related genres such as techno, electro, dub and sound poems into a sound that is at once deeply personal and extremely compelling.

All of the tracks are collaborative efforts, Banu seeing the process as an exchange of care and shared experiences, while integrating research into her writing process. The lyrics in „Transition (part 1+2)‘‘ are an adaptation of Sara Ahmed’s “Living a Feminist Life”, while „Surgery“ was born out of series of interviews with trans people, channeling the metallic sounds of a surgery room to refer to society‘s perception of transness as a medical condition. Tracks like „First Time feat. Patricia“, „Harem feat. Prince Emrah“ or „We feat. Aérea Negrot“ document her encounters with various trans women, centering their life experiences while also developing a deep dialogue through the process of making music together.

The darkest and perhaps the most emblematic track is ‚‘Bianka (In Memory Of)‘‘, dedicated to the late Bianka Shigurova, a 22-year old Georgian actress found dead in her apartment. It was her Tbilisi photographer friend George Nebieridze who told her Bianka‘s tragic story, whose death is suspected to be an assasination due to transphobia. Banu chose one of Nebieridze‘s analogue photos of Bianka as the album‘s cover art.

TrasSoundScapes

BANU - TransSoundScapes LP

Sound piece of the installation "Temple of Intersectionality" during open studios of the Namibia Residency by Akademie Schloss Solitude. My kind of sound collage.

Namibia Residency Akademie Schloss Solitude

Snippets from Sonic Activation Performance
2021 gossipgossipgossip in Public Space in Ku'damm Berlin.
2022 The Living Gallery, NYC.

2. Act Sonic Activation

3. Act Sonic Activation

1. Act Sonic Activation

Pink Noise emerges from an intimate recording of the artist's vaginal milieu, captured with a self-crafted microphone. The subtle, haunting sounds of her body’s infection with the human papillomavirus. An unseen transformation altering the cellular landscape of her cervix. The visceral tones unveil both the vulnerability and the quiet resilience of a queer, migrant body navigating its existence. 
Banu exposes a deep connection to the rhythms of her body while illuminating the pervasive yet often unspoken truths of one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. It is an act of confronting stigma and raises awareness of systemic inequities within the healthcare system in Germany. 
Pink Noise is the sonic manifestation and interpretation of Banu's sound installation and solo exhibition at Galerie im Turm in Berlin in 2023. 

Thanks a lot to https://soundcloud.com/banusound

Artist: Banu
Title: Pink Noise
Label Unrush (TUV001)
Release: 18 April 2025
Format: 12" & digital

12" Available at Bandcamp and a few selected stores
https://unrush.bandcamp.com/album/banu-pink-noise

Cover artwork by Irakli Kiziria
Text by Theresa Bäumel
Mastering by Sasa Strauss



Bandcamp

Banu - Pink Noise (#TUV001) Preview

Today’s Pink Moon carries a gentle magic and is a perfect moment to share something truly special. Aligned with the energy of this lunar phase and her recent EP Pink Noise on Unrush, we couldn't imagine a better time to release Banu’s stunning mix for us.

Born in south-east Turkey, Banu is a DJ, producer, and sound artist who uses music as a political tool - a vehicle to express deep emotion and challenge systems of oppression. Her work sits at the intersection of contemporary art and activism, weaving together participation, social design, ecology, and feminist and queer theory into powerful multimedia installations where sound takes center stage.

This mix is a beautiful reflection of Banu’s multifaceted practice. Blending immersive soundscapes, Downtempo, and exceptional sound design, it’s a sonic journey that speaks to both the personal and the political - featuring some of our favorite artists and sounds we hold close. Tune in, slow down, and let yourself be moved...

Thanks a lot to https://soundcloud.com/banusound

BANU on the web:
Homepage: https://www.banucicektulu.com/
Bandcamp: https://intergalacticresearchinstituteforsound.bandcamp.com/album/transsoundscapes
Bandcamp: https://unrush.bandcamp.com/album/banu-pink-noise
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/banusoundd/

UNRUSH on the web:
Bandcamp: www.unrush.bandcamp.com/
Hardwax: www.hardwax.com/label/unrush/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/_unrush

Cover artwork by Irakli Kiziria

Tracklist:
Banu - Flushing through my veins (unreleased)
Jack Swayd - as if (unreleased)
Jack Swayd - Dassler (unreleased)
Jack Swayd - Tafari V2 (unreleased)
Kmru - Oloolua (Physically Sick 3)
Banu & Sir Ray - Embodied Others (unreleased)
Banu - Aural Flesh (unreleased)
Inhmost - Sunrise Meditation (re:st)
Ludwig Berger - Or the Noun of Naïve Particles 
Jo Johnson - Orbit (Mysteries of the Deep)
Pauline Anna Strom - Angel Tears in Sunlight (RVNG)
Gnawa Music of Marrakesh - Baba L'Rouami (Zehra)
Les Filles de Illighadad - Inssegh Inssegh (Pioneer Works)
Noah Klein - New Friends In The Everythingness (Moon Glyph)
Banu & Sir Ray feat. Muni Hoveka - Past Upon Us  (unreleased)
Pyur - Rose Born
UFOm - Ultraviolet Ray (Moon Glyph)
Nightmares On Wax - Nights Introlude (Warp Records)

PINK NOISE LP

098 - Unrushed by Banu

For the August 2025 episode, Relictronica welcomes Banu, a DJ, electronic music producer and sound artist based in Berlin.

Growing up in South Eastern Turkey within the underground rave scene, Banu developed a distinct approach to mixing, shaped by her background in music, sound art installations and research. She specializes in composing with analog synthesizers, versatile and groovy, and uses sound design as a way to blur the boundaries between music and sound art.

Her sets are immersive journeys, filled with deep grooves, textured layers and transitions that carry both political and emotional weight. She believes in the transformative power of music, using it as a tool for empowerment and connection, with a focus on BIPOC and LGBTQI+ communities.

This mix is no exception. It moves between hypnotic rhythm and uncanny sonic detail, a space where the dance floor becomes both a refuge and a statement.

Banu for Relictronica.

Banu

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