- There are few local DJs in the Turkish electronic music scene making a huge impact on audiences, but Orkun Bozdemir is one of them. Bozdemir is the co-founder of Magnet, a new club in the city, and his set earlier this month showed it: He seemed completely laidback and relaxed—as if he was playing at home. Lucky for him, it's quickly become a home that mostly attracts the connoisseurs, something helped along by the venue's strict door policy that keeps it quiet and relaxed inside, rather than packed with people who won't enjoy the music.
Tonight was no different. We arrived at the cozy, personal and stylish club around midnight and it was pretty much empty. Bozdemir came to us, and let us know that within the hour the place would fill up. He was right. While we were listening to one of his warm-up songs, Loco Dice's "How Do I Know," people slowly started to fill the place. We went up to the little lounge area where people were chilling on the couches, waiting for their drinks and the beat to kick in.
At 1 AM we went downstairs again, when Bozdemir turned it up a notch to appease the growing crowd. No more sitting at the bar or talking to your girlfriend: Like a plague, the dancing virus spread, helped along by Ben Watt's Buzzin' Fly mix of The Viewers' "Streethorn."
We were infected as well, as Bozdemir took it from not so minimal minimal all the way to tech-house. Without playing commercial club bangers he had everybody banging off the walls—no mean feat in Istanbul. The all-lights super high-tech ceiling changed colors together with the beat and gave this small venue the air of one of the more luxurious clubs until Bozdemir peaked with his last track of the set, D'Julz's remix of Matthew Dear's "Free to Ask." U.F.U.K., another local DJ was slated to play next, but we had had enough: This taste of the Turkish scene was all we needed for the night.