Sakatat singer is back with DIY Istanbul projects

Turkey isn’t exactly known for high-quality grindcore, but Semih Orhan, formerly of the scorching crustgrind band Sakatat, is trying to change that with his current projects: the DIY booking collective Atom Kule and the one-page independent social media platform grind.link.

Sakatat was a special band, evidenced by their absolutely crushing final release, the LP Bir Devrin Sonu, and Orhan is continuing to carry the grindcore torch. Atom Kule is a non-profit booking collective imbued with the same DIY spirit as his previous band, laser-focused on bringing thrilling extreme punk/metal shows to Istanbul and doing everything the way the grindcore gods intended: from the grassroots. Things have been going great, with Atom Kule having over the years set up shows for such stellar acts as Wojczech, Kate Mosh, The Arson Project, and Sarinvomit.

While Orhan has the concert promotions angle covered, he is also filling in the much-needed box of social media. With grind.link, every extreme metal band the world over has the perfect platform for interacting with their fans, booking their own shows and tours, selling their merch, and more. Right now grind.link is still in beta, but one look at the sleek interface and you know Orhan is onto something, offering up to DIY grind bands a one-stop shop for their internet presence. Grindcore is notorious for its diehard DIY ethics, with many bands shunning Facebook, Twitter, and the like, but with someone like Orhan running the show at grind.link, many bands might change their thinking. Well-regarded bands like Birdflesh have already jumped on board, and I’ll predict that many more will follow.
by Zack Barrera

Live photo: Kru$h live in Istanbul, 2014 by Onur Y. Desk photo: Atom Kule’s old podcast.


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