Joined together with music against trans murders: shelTer

All sales through bandcamp from the album shelTer will be given to Eylül Cansın Trans Guest House! The guesthouse takes its name from Eylül Cansın, a trans woman who committed suicide in 2015 at the age of 23…

Source: “Joined together with music against trans murders: shelTer” (“Trans cinayetlerine karşı müzik ile bir arada: shelTer”), Tuğçe Özbiçer, Gazete Duvar,  November 20, 2019, https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/kultur-sanat/2019/11/20/trans-cinayetlerine-karsi-muzik-ile-bir-arada-shelter/?D736fbclid=IwAR0Kl96N6pSEK0YDUKqHCKIDfw3JehVA86tIn_y6jJQntA8L0qjZE9KJ8o0

Ece Özel and Umut Kahya, the founders of Müstesna Records have both been important figures in the Istanbul music scene for many years. After the album “Etnik Sentetik” which covers the works produced between 1995 and 2006, they announced the news of an exciting new album: shelTer.

All of the revenue from ShelTer’s sales will be transferred to Eylül Cansın Trans Guest House and is now on sale through bandcamp. The guesthouse is named after Eylül Cansın, a trans woman who committed suicide at the age of 23 in 2015, saying “I wanted to work but they wouldn’t let me. I can’t stand it anymore.” 

Eylül Cansın’s case once again showed that transgender individuals are subjected to systematic hatred from society and the state.

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT: TO SUPPORT THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE GUESTHOUSE AND POLICIES THAT WILL STRENGTHEN GUESTS

Cansın Trans Guest House is also home to transgender people from migrant backgrounds. The revenue from the shelTer album is intended to financially support the process of both the relocation and the policy-making of the guesthouse, which is currently in the process of being evacuated due to infrastructure and security issues.

TURKEY: EUROPE’S MOST TRANS MURDERS COMMITTED COUNTRY

Turkey is notorious for having the most trans murders in Europe and the ninth most in the world. Many names from the local and international underground music scene came together to create international awareness of the fact that trans murders and suicides are political. ShelTer, a compilation album, brings together 25 tracks that will make you dance with minimal rhythms, and take you on a cosmic journey with dark sounds and harsh timbre!

Here is the link of the album that is currently on pre-sale via Bandcamp but you can reach all of its songs in 7-10 days (as of original publication on 20/11/2019)

https://mustesnarecords.bandcamp.com/album/va-shelter

Umut Kahya explained the album project as follows:  “We discussed it with Ece (Özel) ‘Can we do something about hate crime and trans murders in our field? I think it was around May or June. Then we asked the artists we knew if they would like to take part in the project. We received a positive response from almost everyone we spoke to. Unfortunately, the guesthouse is now closed, and we will contribute to find a new place for the guests during the evacuation process and to cover their expenses such as rent and repairs.”

Ece Özel  runs the Exclusive Records project with Umut Kahya and has been on the Istanbul music scene for almost 10 years. Ece said: “LGBTI + individuals have a very important place in the music scene and nightlife in Istanbul, but they must constantly struggle for this place”. A struggle that “needs to be repeated from scratch.”

When I ask her to compare the situation with the past, I get the following answer: “Yes, there are many things that have changed from past to present, of course, the new generation has a different view of the whole situation, the world is different.”

 

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