Interview with Direc-t

Direc-t – by Mel in Toronto

Back in 1997, Direc-t's lead singer Bilge was involved in accident where he crashed into a post – a post that would later prove to be fateful and symbolic for the band. Direc-t means post in Turkish, which soon became the name for this alternative rock band. The band's music is defined by great energy, a truly unique sound with beautiful arrangements, and unusual vocals. The band members' influences like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Presidents of USA, or Violent Femmes are apparent, but also strings and other instruments are incorporated into their music which creates compelling soundscapes.

This three-piece band who calls Istanbul, Turkey, home comprises of Bilge Kosebalaban (lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar), Alex Tintaru (bass), and Ozgur Pestimalci (drums). Direc-t has been together in this formation since 2000. Bilge says with a smile that "I started singing since I was born, and been playing guitar since 1994. Ozgur started to play drums when he was 16 and Alex started to play bass in high school, he's the only one with training."

"Sadness," is Bilges inspiration to write most of the lyrics and music, and "getting bored and starting to play guitar." Direc-t's songs are generally about "love, time passing by and these days I'm working on a song about people's torture to our planet," Bilge says. Most of the band's songs are in Turkish. Their two released albums ‘Rus Kozmonotlari' (2004) and ‘Olympos' (2005) contain two and a half English songs. OBSEQUIOUS "was written on my 20th birthday, which was a sad sad day, and I was missing my joy," Bilge says with a smile. "The riff has come to me somehow and after some spins the song was ready. I always record tunes on a tape. So this song's evolution was taped as well. There are hundreds of tapes waiting to be discovered some day." Bilge says about WOODEN LOVE that "I borrowed an acoustic guitar from a friend. I was playing on my sofa then suddenly I found myself playing this tune."

The song 20 WAYS is not on an album yet. "There are 20 ways and sunny sunny days. I come from a small south-Mediterranean city called Adana. And we have the hottest days ever. There was no way for me to get out of my city when I was in high school," Bilge says. About their hit single HASRET Bilge says "when I woke up, the lyrics, originally in English, and the melody were playing in my head. I've recorded it on the computer. Then on the first album, the Turkish version became a hit!

Direc-t not only plays in Turkey. "We have played the Slovakia-Pohoda Festival in 2003, and I have busked in most of the European cities," Bilge says. This September, Direc-t brings their music to the United States. The band's first North American appearance will be this Friday, September 28, 2007, at the Cincinnati Midpoint Festival. "We'll be live at The Exchange Club in Cincinnati," Bilge says. Their second show will be on October 1st, 2007, at Mo Pitkin's in New York City. Bilge adds "we would love to play in Canada as well."

For those of us, who won't be able to see Direc-t live any time soon, the band posted a video in the vibe section, showing us just how energetic and great their live shows are. Stay tuned for an English album released by the band.

"In your own words" – ONE on ONE with Mel and Bilge

Mel: Who are your influences?

Bilge: Nirvana, Pousa, Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Beatles, Violent Femmes

Mel: What does it mean to you to be an indie artist?

Bilge: Freedom. We are independent and we accept no force on our music to make it sound mainstream.

Mel: What would you like to achieve with your music?

Bilge: We released two albums here in Turkey in Turkish and came to the point where we wanted to reach out. Right now, we want to put our English songs on an album and make everyone in the world who listens to rock music go crazy with it.

Mel: Which opportunities do you see with indieSolo?

Bilge: It is a great site for bands to promote themselves. Great idea and hopefully it will help Direc-t to bring more attention to our music all around the world.

Mel: How important is Internet marketing for you?

Bilge: It is very important. There was a site called mp3.com and it has helped us a lot in the early years of Internet as an unsigned band. Nowadays, indieSolo, MySpace, youtube, lastfm, etc. These sites are reachable all the time and being reached by people all around the world, so it's more powerful then anything.

Mel: Could you please tell me about the indie music scene in Istanbul, Turkey?

Bilge: There's a great scene and a lot of bands. Great places and loads of gigs, it has evolved in a good way and there's a great amount of listeners following the bands, buying albums... mmh … no, downloading the songs.

Mel: What do you like best, when you perform live?

Bilge: Singing in front of loads of people. The claps after the song and the gifts they throw on the stage (laughs). We really have fun on there. You have to see us live!

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