Cover Photo by @maoshiyii on Instagram
In Naz’s world, music is less of a product and more of an ongoing experiment of the human condition. Her work–intertwining the ever-evolving electronic music scene with her ancestral roots and classical training, is something that stops listeners in their tracks.
The 24 year old Brooklyn based musician was born and raised in Ankara, Turkey. She does accredit some of her musical influence to her Turkish upbringing, but not in the way you’d think. Describing that the act of singing acted as a rebellion, colored with responsibility.
“Being Turkish and like all the women in my family, it’s so much like silence.” She explains “And then when I get to sing, I always feel like my grandma is there and feels like a responsibility I guess.”
Naz started with piano at the age of three and “played until she hated it”, eventually transitioning into singing. Twenty some-years later Naz decided to move to the states and pursue a degree at Sarah Lawrence College in Opera singing. However, after doing so, she felt something was off. This feeling followed her around campus, until she ultimately broke.
“Wait, didn’t I wanna be creative?” She recounts. “Like all my life I wanted to like to make art. She recounts, “What am I doing? You know, I would just be in the piano room crying, looking at this French Baroque 13 paged horrifying piece. Oh my God. And I was like, I can’t quit. What am I gonna do?”
This vulnerable moment at the piano was the catalyst to make the decision to honor her creativity, and explore art and life outside of the rigid classical lens. The first step she took was learning guitar and then experimenting with electronic music. This enabled her to conduct her first performance art piece.
“Metamorphosis” as she labeled it, was a final goodbye to her eating disorder, and an attempt to recode her brain. The performance even featured sound bites of the same measuring tape she would use everyday.
“All my projects were little rituals of how I would like–I had a measuring tape that I would measure myself at all times–and I made samples of those sounds, okay, let’s reframe this bitch.”
Since then, Naz has made a name for herself, performing at different venues all across New York and Brooklyn. Her most recent gig at House of Yes, was something to be celebrated. Naz’s performance featured some of her own sound designs and self composed loops with some turkish improv lyrics.
“it was interesting to see different possibilities in the set and how my voice wanted to move in different places” she recounts of her performance.
Her crowd command was also something to revel at, as not a single person in the audience was unfocused, and seemed rather comfortable. Naz creates a rather spiritual place of release and connects with her audience—In a way electronic acts struggle to at times.
“As a performer Naz is extremely captivating” Says collaborator and fan Garrett Botsch, “Her composition and live singing abilities would be impressive on their own, but watching them combine in real time is truly a magical experience that I expect to only get better and better. Truly a one of a kind performer that cannot be held by limitation”.
Naz’s genre-bending sound may grab attention, but her mindset is also something that other musicians should be taking notes on. Through a lens of transcendentalist philosophy, she reframes change as something to explore, challenge, and play with–which makes for an extraordinary product.
Make sure to check out Naz’s upcoming performances if you’re in the New York area!
April 11 – Multimedia Performance Art Piece at Every Woman Biennial
April 11 – Audio Visual Performance for Artifice at Onassis Onx
April 16 – Live Ambient Techno at Reforesters Lab
April 17 – Online XR Exhibit Opening
May 2 – Performing Live Music for a Dance Piece
