Picture: ALADAG [Diynamic]

Berlin-based DJ, producer and director Aladag unveils his hotly-anticipated new EP Picture: Aladag, alongside focus track ‘Pool’, out 11th August on underground German electronic label Diynamic. Exhibiting Aladag’s craft for melody, slow-burn beauty and climactic crescendos, Picture: Aladag is six tracks of transcendent techno.

EP opener and lead single ‘My Religion’ sets the tone with an endlessly catchy synthesized vocal mantra telling a tale of faith: “My religion in my system / deep in my thoughts / in my blood / every single move”. Focus track ‘Pool’, which is accompanied by a music video, follows with a life-affirming dance anthem. “The average life expectancy in Germany is 81 years”, Aladag says of the track. “The countdown in the song symbolizes that every year, every minute, every second is valuable and always exactly what we make of it.” 

‘Use Me’ continues the uplifting feel with a synth-laden symphony, before EP centrepiece ‘Levent’ follows with a brooding masterstroke elevated by soaring synths and rap vocals. On the EP’s back stretch, ‘Go’ is another driving groove adorned with otherworldly vocal samples, and ‘Divine’ closes the release on a serene note with delicate piano melodies. 

“I wanted to create tracks for the dance floor that are highly energetic and emotional at the same time”, says Aladag about the EP. “All six tracks are part of my spiritual journey. I see myself as someone who is permanently trying to tap into the infinite source of music as an explorer and share what I find there.”

Aladag is a dreamer and a doer. For a long time his main focus was being a director, writer, and producer in the film industry. Bringing visions from the mind to the screen, be they his own or helping others with theirs, has shaped a life centred around the process of creation. 

However, music has been a constant companion on his journey, from the earliest beginnings – starting to DJ at age 13 and producing at 14 – to co-writing and co-producing multiple German Gold and Platinum records, until now, when he has awarded the musical muse the lead role in his life once again.

He is also a river born from multiple confluences. His Turkish roots, him growing up in Stuttgart’s hip-hop scene and later finding a new home in Berlin’s techno clubs, all within a family (both biological and chosen) which lives and breathes creativity, has blended a colourful tincture that is so clearly audible in his first release, the Picture: Aladag on Diynamic. 

Playing with opposites, crossing boundaries and searching within, Aladag is a deeply introverted human who is daring to bring his emotions to light. For Aladag, music is a connector between souls and the hero of his journey.