Held throughout Turkey between 18 June and 22 July 2014, the Don’t Panic! voting campaign resulted in the selection of the Polish musicians to be featured on the Istanbul stage. Most votes were given to Polish electronic duo Rebeka, and the anonymous band Bokka.
The campaign also resulted in the announcement of 15 winners who were given free tickets for the upcoming event at Nublu Istanbul. Click to read quotes from campaign voters
The concert at Nublu Istanbul on 18 December 2014 will start at 21:00. Turkish indie band Portecho will also take to the stage alongside the visiting Polish musicians.
Initiated as Iwona Skwarek’s solo project, Rebeka dates back to 2008 in the Polish city of Poznań. The band gained momentum when Skwarek was joined by Bartosz Szczęsny in the summer of 2010. The duo’s debut album appeared as late as 2013.
The musicians emphasize that emotions play an important part in their songs – this is best exemplified by the captivating single Melancholia / Melancholy, which was also very well received by Turkish audiences during the voting period last summer. Rebeka’s work recalls music from the 80s, when synthetic sounds were mixed with those of the guitar, for example, by such bands as New Order, Ultravox and Depeche Mode. Journalists also associate Rebeka with newer groups such as The Kills, The Knife and Austra.
Referred to as a “mystical supergroup,” Bokka was originally formed by three anonymous musicians in 2013. Capable of awakening a wide variety of associations, Bokka’s music is usually very synthetic and is, at times, aggressively rhythmic. Such vigorous compositions earn them associations with Scandinavian formations such as Lykke Li, The Knife, and Sigur Ros, although the critics also place Bokka near Autra, Warpaint, or Fever Ray.
The band skillfully merges electronic pulses with live instrumental sections (guitar, bass). Rhythm may play an important part, but the melodies are always the true leading element of these compositions. At times, they are overtaken by thick keyboards and bass, at others – soft as mist dispersed in an open space.
Turkish music lovers are to be delighted with new musical blood by the emerging Polish bands Rebeka and Bokka. The Istanbul concert on 18 December 2014 will open its doors at 21:00, at Nublu Istanbul.