Get to know Istanbul’s darkest, dingiest rave scene
Captured at Pixie Underground: Istanbul’s first and only bass music club. It’s now called NOH Extended.
This article was originally published in September 2020, and has been updated in 2026 to reflect recent changes in the Istanbul underground scene.
Meet Emmy and DJoyce of Co-Select: a DJ power couple who met raving in Marrakech and now live together in Istanbul. Both heavily involved DJing in the city’s cutting-edge rave network, I caught up with them to find out more about their personal experiences of their bass music community.
Hey Emy and Djoyce (Ayoub)! How was it moving to Istanbul from London and Morocco? Was the underground scene welcoming?
Aouyb - They really welcomed us! Before COVID, sometimes I was playing out twice a week. The scene is a lot more happening for me in Istanbul than in Morocco. Emmy joined me here from London and we had some really good gigs.
Yeah, I was excited to see so much cutting edge music coming out of Istanbul!
Ayoub - There’s a really strong scene for IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), Drum and Bass, Dubstep - you know Gantz? He's a big name from Istanbul. He’s one of the main leaders of the underground scene here. He always plays in Pixie Club (Now taken over by NOH Extended).
Emmy - There’s also a big techno scene, Temple is an underground techno club that we’ve played at. For years, Pixie was the ultimate go-to for bass and experimental music where every night was completely unpredictable. Even though the venue has since closed, it left a massive mark on Istanbul's nightlife.
Ayoub - “Sometimes you get electro, house, breakbeat, breakcore, noise, dnb, dubstep…”
Emmy - There’s no distinction between the DJs and the crowd really. Everyone comes together. It's like one family.
Pixie Underground: Istanbul’s first and only bass music club
What about the crowd- would you say it was more local or international?
Emmy - The crowd used to be mostly locals back when it was Pixie, but now that it's transitioned into NOH, it’s a much more international mix of travelers and local underground music heads.
Geographically SPEAKING, ISTANBUL is very much where East meets West. Has this had an impact on ITS rave culture?
Emmy - The underground scene is such a small portion of the whole society! I would say there are European influences, but overall the culture feels more Arabic.
Ayoub - Many of them have Muslim parents. A lot of our friends are Muslim, but also Christians and one Jewish.
Emmy - “The ravers are into freedom and doing what they want - often they have a lot of tattoos. It’s quite punk!”
Captured at Pixie Underground: Istanbul’s first and only bass music club
What other challenges has the scene faced? Have there been political tensions?
Emmy - Turkish people have told us the scene used to be bigger and more happening. In the last few years, they put a lot more restrictions on clubs: heavier licensing and taxes, I think.
“Since stricter COVID restrictions took place, more things started opening up on the Asian side of the city”.
Captured at Pixie Underground: Istanbul’s first and only bass music club
Do they have a rave scene on both sides?
Ayoub - It's the same thing! Same people, same crowd. There are some really good soundsystem parties in Kadikoy (on the Asian side).
Emmy - There's not really such a divide as it sounds. A lot of people live on that side and come here to party and vice versa.
What about the sound, how would you describe the Istanbul sound?
Ayoub - Just one hour ago, my friend Fosil sent me a track. He’s a Turkish artist - it’s a really wicked track.
Emmy - He’s founded this collective called BAD MASH. They’re really experimental and do everything from producing to DJing and visuals. They have these really long beat battles on Soundcloud, like recently this one called covidwars.
Ayoub - Yeah, in these battles you can hear some really different vibes. The sound is really not from the UK, it’s like nothing you've heard before.
It's so refreshing to hear that the scene has been nourished internally. I love that it's not just been imported straight from the West.
Emmy - Yeah definitely. It's got UK influences but they're doing their own thing. It's super different and really creative. I really admire that about the Istanbul scene.
Paradox at Pixie Underground
Thank god for radio! OK, to end on a positive:What's your favourite thing on the Istanbul scene? What makes it unique to anywhere else in the world?
Emmy: “Pixie was the heart of the scene, and the entire bass community was born from it. It was such a special era, and that energy is what makes Istanbul completely unique to anywhere else in the world.”