HÜMA UTKU

Booking Agent : Giorgio Salmoiraghi

Hailing from Istanbul, the composer and sound artist Hüma Utku delves into the possibility of how raw sonic textures, electronic experimentation and acoustic composition can be used as means to conduct artistic introspection, sonic expression and conceptual exploration.

Highlighted as ‘a very singular artist’ (Bleep), she fuses field recordings, analog synthesisers and atmospheric ambience; into harmonious noise woven into harsh ritualistic rhythms, as means to utilise sound for storytelling. Combining her self-taught practice of music with her higher education in psychology; Utku’s work as a whole draws inspiration from various layers of human condition and the complementary nature of dualities. She primarily engages with musical composition, sound for visuals, performance and installations.

In August 2018 Şeb-i Yelda (EP/12”) was released by Karlrecords, which presented Utku (as R.A.N.) with an authentic sound and strong conceptual theme to a wide audience. Following the international success of her EP, she released her debut full-length album Gnosis in July 2019 via the same label. This release gained Utku recognition for her unique approach of creating sonic story plots by merging concepts with experiments in electronic music.

Her sophomore album, The Psychologist, was released on Editions Mego in May 2022. Loaded with analog synthesisers, string composition, gnarly vocals and a raw artistic force, this album has been cited as ‘Utku’s most ambitious, authentic and complex work yet’, in which her academic background and her current practice as a conceptual music composer are intertwined.

Her new album, Dracones, released on Editions Mego in April 2025, revolves around the theme of matrescence and received high regard by the international press among which her work has been praised for its ‘’Lynchian’’ sonic qualities (taz zeitung) and has been called ‘’innovative for the unpredictability of its sounds and the honesty with which she mediates…Dracones embraces the shadows and the dissonance and is gripping for it‘’ (PopMatters).

In September 2025, Utku launched her experimental music label, Mercurial Cycles, as a platform for sonic arts and interdisciplinary practices. Mercurial Cycles holds a radio residency on the Berlin based Refuge Worldwide.

Since 2016, Utku presented her work and performed across the world; including in Dark Mofo, Atonal Berlin , Salon IKSV Istanbul, Hamburger Bahnhof, CTM Festival, Donaufestival, Lunchmeat, Kunsthaus Zürich, Sonic Acts, Weltmuseum Vienna, MONOM, Stockholm Royal College of Music, among many other acclaimed music events and cultural institutions.

Her work has received notable press from platforms such as The Wire, PopMatters, Noisey, RollingStone, Redbull Music, Groove Mag, HHV Mag, A Closer Listen, Gonzo Circus, BantMag, Scene Noise among others, as well as getting broadcasted by seminal radio stations such as BBC Radio 3, NPR, ORF, TRT, NTS radio, RAI 3, YLE and Sveriges Radio.

 
 
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