Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with ERKMEN
Genre-fluid. Emotion-heavy. Sonically fearless.
Based in Hamburg, blends modern metal with dark R&B, hip-hop, and electronic textures — pulling from acts like BMTH, and Bad Omens, while drawing influence from French electro and even Japanese city pop. His latest single, ARTIFICIAL GRAVE, channels that fusion into a protest anthem for a generation raised on noise and resilience.
Having left his homeland a few years ago, themes of disconnection, reinvention, and emotional duality run deep in his work. His music lives in the space between homes — between serenity and violence, between genres, between who he was and who he’s becoming.
His debut DEEP END introduced that world with trap-infused heaviness and melodic collapse. The follow-up, IN WAX & WIRE dives even deeper — a dark, swelling track about love, identity, and unraveling in unfamiliar territory. Now with ARTIFICIAL GRAVE , he sharpens the edges, delivering urgency, melody, and defiance in equal measure.
All of these songs are leading toward his upcoming album HEAVY HEARTS CLUB — a body of work where beauty and brutality collide, and every track carries its own raw confession.
For the ones who crave beauty in the breakdown, genre lines mean nothing — only the feeling does.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Oh, wow. Okay, as the only kid of working parents, I vividly remember coming home from school, turning on MTV, and waiting for an Eminem video to appear. I used to laugh so hard at his music videos, and then I saw My Chemical Romance’s Famous Last Words video and nothing was the same after that.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
As a kid growing up on early internet forums and open-source (sometimes cracked… sorry!) software, I was always fascinated by recording technology. My high school best friend was a rapper, so I started recording and making beats for him. That’s when I realized, “Wait, I can actually do something with this Cool Edit Pro software!” (which was terrible, by the way 😅).
At that point, I was already a metalhead and begged my dad to get me a secondhand Cort X-2 guitar. We couldn’t afford an amp, and I was really bummed, but now I see that it taught me something important. It kept me grounded; even now, I’m grateful that I’m not that guy with pro-quality gear who still sits in his room playing the same riffs. Back then, I was just experimenting with early amp sim VSTs, trying everything I could find for free.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Around three years ago, I moved from my hometown Istanbul to Hamburg, Germany with my wife, and that move changed me deeply. I felt split between two worlds. Even though I was really active in the Istanbul metal scene, I didn’t know anyone here. So I did what I do best: stayed calm, thought things through, made a to-do list, and didn’t let it stress me out.
Now I’m enjoying being part of this new scene, meeting amazing people, and playing different venues in Hamburg. It’s honestly been delightful.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I’d say: “Heavy enough to hit you in the face, groovy and modern, but melodic enough that even your non-metal friends will enjoy it without realizing how heavy it actually is.”
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Maybe not just one thing, but learning mixing and mastering changed everything for me. I don’t want to sound edgy, but I have a hard time respecting artists who aren’t involved in their own production process.
Composing a song is just the first baby step. I actually finish the song during mixing.
I remember when I first nailed a vocal chain, that’s when I realized how much control I actually had.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I like to surprise people when I tell them my guitar tone comes from a 180€ baritone guitar with basic, cheap pickups. I love using FabFilter Pro-Q3, I swear there’s no sound I can’t shape with it. Also, I think the Native Instruments T-RackS suite doesn’t get enough love. It’s an amazing mastering tool if you know what you’re doing.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Oh, WØØDHEAD – The Ghost is my jam right now.
Other than that, Cetacea – Yemin, o’six – Violets, and lately I’ve been really into Baltimore’s nightlife.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I think I can speak for myself and probably a lot of people from similar backgrounds when I say that not having even the basic tools to make music really shaped us. We learned early on how to just do something instead of crying or complaining about it.
I don’t like pulling the “poor kid” card, but I was honestly shocked when I came to Hamburg and saw people with 3,000€ amps and 5,000€ guitars just sitting in studio rooms collecting dust. Meanwhile, me and my friends always tried to make something out of nothing. Looking back, I can scroll through my old SoundCloud and literally see my whole journey, all the genres, all the phases (some of which I probably should’ve kept private 😅).
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Conflict.
Conflict in sound, in lyrics, that constant pull between chaos and control, heartbreak and defiance. Every song bleeds honesty, diving headfirst into unrest, self-doubt, and survival.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Do it first, dream later. Don’t wait for anything, just do it yourself.
Releasing something to your inner circle or your second-wave friends is way harder than releasing it to total strangers. I used to think it was like posting a nude on Instagram, but honestly, showing your music is harder these days. It’s cringe until you’re confident, and once you are, it’s not.
People will always go, “Oh, is he doing music now?” half-jokingly at first, but if you’re good, they’ll respect you for it.
That’s the best revenge, turning their curiosity into support.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
As a metalcore kid, I would’ve said Warped Tour ten years ago, but now Download Festival would be legendary. Of course, Wacken and Rock am Ring are musts too.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Definitely Bring Me The Horizon, not just because of their crazy-good collaborations, but because that was literally my teenage dream.
I’d also love to work with Cetacea someday.
And actually, I can share that I’ve got a collab coming soon with the instrumental math-rock project Paralian!
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
My go-to address is just my Spotify
I’m mostly active in TikTok
ERKMEN (@iamerkmen) • Instagram photos and videos
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Produce more, release more, and grow what I’ve started.
I want to complete 2026 with my upcoming full album HEAVY HEARTS CLUB.
HEAVY HEARTS CLUB is the most personal and dynamic project I’ve ever worked on. It feels like a diary written in distortion. It’s the sound of breaking down, healing, and trying again. It’s heavy, melodic, and painfully human. I want it to feel like that late-night drive where everything makes sense for a minute.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
That I’m here, constantly releasing, producing, and pushing forward. I’m reliable. I won’t be one of those artists who drops one album and vanishes.
You can message me anytime on social media, and we can just chat. I’m always down for that.
