For Mahalla Festival’s closing event on September 10th, Y.Unan took us to a sonic journey through time, memories and emotions presenting a selection inspired by the change Istanbul has been through, waving at the good old days and blinking at the present.

Y.Unan is a DJ, designer and curator born, raised and based in Istanbul. Growing up in Kadıköy while studying in a high school on Istiklal Street, followed by Mimar Sinan University and being based and DJing right in the city center for almost 2 decades, she’s seen a long list of new waves and old schools, erased rules and rewritten ones, both the city had to offer silently, or the government did so loudly. As many others in the underground community, she’s been active in supporting the culture despite the bans, cancels and struggles, also having recently introduced a new collective with Nene H called Sirän, to elevate the female and LGBTQI+ artists, building up bridges between Istanbul and Berlin.