Yay for amazing pop songs I never knew existed.

Farragoes are amazing.

Nobody told me the new Major Lazer was excellent!

New video from Yacht! A cover of a surrealist revolutionary song from 1969 by Brigitte Fontaine with The Art Ensemble of Chicago. So pumped to open for them next week!

The day I arrived in Istanbul there was a historic storm. They closed the bridge connecting the European side of the city to the Asian side, and all the ferries were closed too. I heard that a few people died, and many more were injured. I met someone that told me that a piece of a roof was blown off and landed on a car directly in front of them, smashing it. I stayed inside hiding until I went for a rehearsal.

The people responsible for bringing me here, Hemi and Seray, were the ones shooting this video. They run an exciting new night in Istanbul called Gigology and Hemi also runs an indie series called B Yüzü, and without him there’s no way I’d have been able to make this incredible trip to Turkey.

I played at Club Babylon, one of the biggest clubs in Istanbul, but in their lounge. The turnout was huge and the vibe was great – I played a new song which I’m going to release soon and people really seemed to like it. I think I’m going to call it “Where Do You Belong?” I also got to dedicate “You’re Going to Age” to a fan for their birthday. I love to remind people about their impending deaths while they’re having a good time. I also have been trying to speak some Turkish on stage – but most people can understand what I’m saying in English anyways.

The day after the show, I sat on the roof of my hostel and hung out there enjoying the incredible view of the city. I worked on songs up there, and it was very productive. Now I’ve figured out what I’m going to do for my next release. It will be a five song EP and I’m going to announce more details about that soon.

I only just found out that I should not be drinking tap water here. I’ve already drunk so much of it, people are a bit shocked that I’ve been doing that. It explains why shops won’t fill up your water bottle here. I’ve gotten really angry with people about that – now I understand. And today I ran into one of the only people I know in Istanbul on the street. So bizarre! It also made me feel a bit like a resident here. I’ve got a bit of a day off so I’m going to see if I can see a few of Istanbul’s beautiful places and make a cheesy Turkish pop song while I’m here. Special thanks to Gulsah, Murat, and Seray for letting me stay with them and being such awesome hosts.

I’ll leave you with this amazing treatise on video editing.