DJ Mahmut Orhan is on a roll. From masterfully remixing the theme song of American fantasy drama Game of Thrones and earning millions of views on YouTube with recent releases Save me and Feel, the musical evolution of the Bursa-born electronica artist is unstoppable. “I started my career in my hometown at the age of 16, and when I moved to Istanbul, everything accelerated,” says the 24-year-old hitmaker, who got his feet wet in the dance world by remixing tracks from the ’80s and ’90s. Home to a popular ski center and great festivals, Bursa remains close to Orhan’s heart, where his family and many of his friends live.
In recent years, Orhan’s fame has gone global. His fresh combination of soulful deep house, groovy indie dance and exotic elements from his own cultural experience have echoed around the world’s party zones from Istanbul to Baku, and Dubai to Budapest. With his 2016 release of Feel featuring popular Turkish singer Sena Sener, Orhan achieved more than 200 million YouTube views, while his new hit Save Me landed him 39 million streams on the same video-sharing website.
“When I made these singles, I felt that they would be successful because I really worked hard on them. I thought we would be able to reach the right audience and attract people’s attention,” adds Orhan, who particularly likes mixing East and West in his music. “I have an enthusiasm for ethnic tunes. People enjoy these sounds, especially the violin.”
Orhan throws his electronica extravaganza on November 18th at Budapest’s downtown Hello Baby Bar. “I’m preparing a high-level energy set for the audience in Budapest… I miss the city,” says the artist who last set foot in the Hungarian capital when he performed here a few years ago. Looking ahead, Orhan is already full of plans for 2018. “I’m working on new projects and new singles. We will also play major places and festivals,” he adds.
