Turkish rock band Seksöndört are back on stage after a two-year break, and will be performing in Budapest as the last stop on their European tour. Although they have already shot two videos in the capital, their first Budapest concert will take place on 30 April at the Akvárium. We spoke to the band’s founding guitarist, Arif Erdem Ocak, about this.
What happened to you in those two years when you were inactive as a band?
Everyone focused on their solo and side projects. We continued collaborating but we were not planning make new songs for Seksendört.
What cause this break?
We are a group of friends who actually grew up together. We were playing since we were 17 years-old and in our early 20’s we became a well-known rock band in Turkey. After 10 years, we wanted or started talking about a change. Maybe all bands who are playing for a long time are having this kind of turning points in their career and starting questioning what they are expecting from music. And soon after, due to personal reasons, I moved to Budapest and focused on my solo career there. That was the first big change in the band. We continued our musical career some more years but soon everyone’s focus started to change and went to different directions.
Was it hard to get back on stage after this break?
We were all excited and it was a good feeling to play our songs again in front of thousands people.
Your new song Yara was filmed in Budapest by Hajmasi Peter. How did you choose this place, and director to make this clip?
Budapest was always a special place for Seksendört. In 2015 we came to Budapest to record new songs in SuperSize studio. That is why all band members can speak some little Hungarian. Yara was first time recorded in 2015 in Budapest and it was also around that time we shot our video clip for Hangimiz in Budapest. I met with Peter during the video clip shootings for another Turkish singer, Güliz Ayla (song “Yetmedi mi”) in Budapest. Peter was the director of that video clip. When there was another opportunity to shoot a video clip for Yara, we reached out to Peter and he accepted our offer. He is a very talented director.
The reason of making Yara in Budapest again, is that you liked here when Hangimiz was made?
Budapest is a very beautiful city and there are many talented, young and professional filmmakers in Hungary. Of course Türkiye has the same talents. But since I live in Budapest and work as a producer, we wanted to use this opportunity and make something different. And Hangimiz was also very successful. We are hoping to make more videos here and who knows maybe more bands from Türkiye would be interested in making music videos here.
Do you have any other connection with this country?
Personal, because I live here, and musical connections. We are planning to have more projects here. Maybe record new songs, make new videos or collaborate with Hungarian musicians.
Is it going to be the first time you play here, in Hungary?
Yes, that will be the first time and we are really excited about it!
Is Budapest the last station of the Europe Tour?
Yes, Budapest is our last stop. And we must say it is the most special one for us. We really want to add Budapest into our European tours going forward and hopefully come here more often.
What are your plans after this Tour?
After Yara, there will be new songs coming up soon. And also, festival season is kicking off. We will be traveling in and outside Türkiye to meet our fans.
Tickets for the concert are still available!
Details on the concert’s Facebook event.
