Nalan ・ Pop-Kultur Festival 2026

August 24–30, 2026 | silent green Kulturquartier, Festsaal Kreuzberg, Kulturbrauerei, Pierre Boulez Saal, and more 

Live concerts, experimental music formats, talks, and more. International and local artists, world premieres, and music in all its facets await you—from large stages to intimate club shows.

Nalan released her second solo album this past spring. It was created in her two worlds—Istanbul and Berlin—and especially in the space in between, the ambiguous realm where the two places blend and blur. You can hear that in “2009”—that’s exactly what makes this music so compelling. “2009” isn’t meant to be a chronicle, but rather describes a fictional year, drawn from the artist’s digital camera archive—yet completely reimagined. History is, after all, always being made. The music that accompanies Nalan is multi-layered; it’s never about finding a single sound and incorporating all ideas into it, but rather about seeking out and discovering ever-new approaches. Narrative passages set to beats reminiscent of the Sleaford Mods come to the fore just as much as dark pop or indie singer-songwriter moments. Nalan Şeyma Karacagil is also active as a DJ (under the alias Slimgirl fat) and has performed as part of the hip-hop trio Gaddafi Gals—with whom she played at the Pop-Kultur Festival back in 2018. It’s high time for a reunion.