Graffiti, chandeliers, and CDJs in the streets of Istanbul: This is NOH RADIO

NOH Radio has become an irreplaceable part of Istanbul’s nightlife. Delighted visitors clad in drag, lace tops, and ignorant tattoos spill outside, taking over the street as one would the dancefloor of a club. This is the confidence NOH Radio provides to people by bringing them together, providing a safe space that queers Turkish nightlife beyond boundaries previously thought to be unbreakable. Bright red liminal corridors, a baroque chandelier above CDJs, and graffiti-riddled entrances – NOH Radio speaks through traces of histories that aesthetically emerge within its space. Local and international DJs tell sonic stories that distinguish NOH Radio’s aural signature from any of its counterparts within Turkey or Europe. Photographs from NOH Radio provide a glimpse into its energy and the exuberance of its visitors – smiling ear-to-ear with a cigarette dangling between gapped teeth. Enamored by its aura and energy, we got to talk to the founder of NOH Radio, Abanoz, their music and social media manager, 4-i, and an iconic resident DJ that represents the artistic zeitgeist of NOH, Akış Ka. A product of passion and urgency, NOH Radio represents a future as open and freeing as the music that reverberates within its walls. 

Hi guys! How are you doing? It’s so nice to be able to talk to you!
4-i: Hello! I’m doing great, thank you for asking. I truly appreciate your invite and I’m really looking forward to our conversation.

Let’s dive right into NOH Radio, started in 2015…how did NOH come to be?
Abanoz:  I am a musician who grew up on the streets of Beyoğlu. The toys of my childhood were turntables and mixers that I drew on paper. My first introduction to the streets started with breakdancing parties and graffiti. At the age of 16, I got into electronic music and started working in a club as a DJ’s assistant. At that time, it was very difficult to access music, but it was also very enjoyable. Recordings taken from vinyl records, scribbled record covers, archives of scratched CDs… It showed that this journey would take a long time. I started to both archive and perform with the cassettes, CDs, and records I found in every nook and cranny.
However, just making music was not enough to sustain my life. After my parents separated, I started to live a lonely life. I worked in the field of architecture for years and took care of music in the spare time I found. At the age of 22, I got married for the first time and this process took me away from the stages and nightlife for a while. When I came back after three years of marriage, I encountered a changed order in the music scene. The same DJs were always playing in the venues and new names were not given a chance. In 2015, I decided to set up NOH Radio in Beyoğlu, where I spent my childhood. I was working as an architect during the day, and in the evenings I was on the radio. We were constantly meeting new musicians and starting to produce together.

Nightlife within Turkey is a tricky space… How does NOH Radio operate within the status quo of Turkey?
Abanoz: Not long after the opening of NOH, the Gezi Events erupted. Bombs were exploding in the streets that people pass by every day, and there was a great exodus from Beyoğlu. One by one, venues that contributed greatly to music culture and nightlife in Istanbul were closing down. Despite all these challenging conditions, NOH Radio continued to exist with the love of music and became a safe meeting point for the musicians of the neighborhood. In this space where we felt at home, we created a social space by bringing different audiences together through music. We have represented Istanbul by sharing not only music but also different disciplines of art with many local and international artists.

NOH is a hub and safe haven for many queer artists and listeners in Istanbul. Can you dive into the implications of nurturing a queer community in Turkey in light of the sustained sociopolitical administration?
4-i: I started participating in Pride marches four years ago, and each march became more challenging than the last. In parallel, the spaces where we could find each other and engage in creative work have steadily diminished. For example, at the end of 2024, a space frequented by young queer people was raided and sealed off. In such a context, protecting our spaces and resisting oppression has become even more valuable.
It is a reality that queer individuals are not given enough space in nightlife. In the heteronormative underground music industry, it’s difficult for queer people to take part as artists, partygoers, or organizers. Protecting queer spaces and creating new ones are a critical necessity for partying, socializing, creating, and sustaining ourselves financially.

Akış Ka: As queers in Turkey, we are among the minority groups experiencing the ever-growing fascism most intensely. The declaration of 2025 as the “Year of the Family” and the proposed amendments to the Turkish Civil Code and Penal Code have put our lives at unprecedented risk. For the first time in Turkey’s history, our trans identities are being directly criminalized, and we are being targeted for punishment simply for existing. This is the culmination of years of hate and discrimination policies. Before reaching this point, our spaces had already been reduced to sex work and nightlife. And even within nightlife, we suddenly became the most unwanted group. Venues are not only refusing to work with us, but they won’t even let us in as customers. In all of Istanbul, the number of places where we can work or have fun can be counted on one hand. As Turkey becomes increasingly conservative, nightlife is following the same path, and we are subjected to the hate and discrimination that comes with it.
I’ve been going to NOH Radio for years; it has become a hub for many subcultures over time, and the same goes for queers and trans people. Noh Radio has opened space for many subcultures that are unseen and pushed aside by the mainstream entertainment industry. But of course, my love, subcultures will always exist—sometimes through music, sometimes through fashion, and sometimes through pure chaos…

Music glues NOH together, your programming is very diverse–could you tell us about your selection process?
4-i: It is important to make room for all kinds of sounds. Clubs or party series might choose specific genres, but this is not really possible for NOH. While aiming for musical diversity, it’s impossible not to highlight queer and female artists. As in almost every sector, DJ selections are made from a male and heteronormative perspective, prioritizing minority groups is what truly gives the work its essence.

And more could you meditate on what music means for you?
4-i: It’s a form of communication, like speaking or body language. The only difference is that misunderstanding music is not a bad thing, because it’s a medium that everyone adds something from themselves, even while consuming it.

Furthermore, how do you approach the role of the disc jockey?
4-i: I think DJing is something like witchcraft. Within the time given to you, with the possibility of failure, you can make a group feel any emotion or get them to move. I focus on what I want to feel at that moment during the party and try to convey that to the crowd.

This question is for AKIŞ KA, you are a force that runs through NOH – several of your streamed sets on youtube feature you surrounded by jumping smiling people. Is AKIŞ KA a character you use to express yourself? A creative offspring?
Akış Ka: Dancing, jumping, laughing… Laughing is a revolutionary act. I see both laughing and making others laugh as the most effective survival strategies. I’d like to begin with explaining the meaning of my name. It is derived from the Turkish word for fluid “akışkan” and “akış”means fluidity. On the other hand, “ka” means elite/white in Queer. Welcome to my sarcastic sense of humor! And who is Akış Ka? Perhaps a bug, or maybe a monster, wandering between the walls of the gender binary. Placeless, rootless, and thanks to you, timeless…
Years ago, Akış Ka emerged as my drag persona and eventually took over me. Now, it’s hard to tell where the character ends and where I begin—the boundaries are blurry, fluid. And honestly, I love it. Instead of chasing something, I become a traveler in the flow of life. The path always leads somewhere, and I take joy in every bit of it, even without knowing the destination…

You weave pop, glitch, bass, breaks, pussy rap – what story do you aim​​ to tell with your sets?
Akış Ka: Slutty, sexy, and shameless. A true party girl—or rather, my party girl. I wanna create a space where we can leave our bullshit at the door and exist purely through dance. My sets are all about blending different genres to channel that same untamed, horny, high-energy spirit. A little whore, a little diva, and completely on fire—music that doesn’t just let us find ourselves but dares us to flaunt it.

And the same goes for you 4-i, what is your sonic story?
4-i: Before DJing, I used to do photography and videos for queer party series and help with the organization. Finding a new medium and material to work with excited me a lot throughout my life. The same happened with DJing. While I used to express myself through photos, videos, and sculptures, I Started doing playlists with other artists’ tracks, then moved on to creating my own. I’ve never been into one specific genre, and my playlists are always a mess for someone who loves a more linear flow. The only thing I know for sure is that I love music that feels like it could pull a knife on you at any moment… Emotionally, of course.

To move on, what do you think makes a club, nightlife scene singular? What non-negotiables do you have at NOH radio?
4-i: It’s something that should be everywhere now: providing a space where everyone can have a good time without discrimination based on religion, language, race, sexual identity, or class. This is not always possible because we can’t always know what kind of person is at the door. However, in recent years, gradually, under the name “Awareness Team,” a few party-goers or team members are being assigned to immediately intervene with people who have such behavior. I believe it should be present in every party and every venue. We can refer to all NOH Radio staff as part of the awareness team. We prefer not to work with people who don’t share this mindset.

What three songs best emulate the aura of the space and the people who make it NOH radio?
4-i: Sunglasses at Night by Tiga, which Abanoz played in one of his sets at NOH Radio. I think you’ll understand why once you listen to it.

Music isn’t the only artistic form of self-expression that NOH is associated with, the party-goers as well as the DJs harness a certain subversive understanding of aesthetics and fashion, what impact do you think NOH had on the newer generations of young adults growing up in Turkey?
4-i: There is a big staircase across the street from NOH Radio, and people come here to pre-drink before going to clubs or to meet new people. It almost turns into a street festival every weekend. With it being a hotspot where so many different people from around the world come, the interactions and sharing between these people are truly inspiring. Seeing the impact of this inspiration on young queers excites me. Because spaces like this are like a playground where people can meet with the person they want to be or decide what kind of person they want to become. Another life is possible <3

To finish off, what dreams do you have for NOH?
4-i: Surviving the current social and political pressure, continuing to be a place where everyone feels comfortable and where music is always good.

Abanoz: We’re now pursuing our newest project NOH EXTENDED. Founded in Tomtom Street, one of the most important locations in Beyoğlu that has shaped the subculture, NOH EXTENDED aims to be a platform that brings together multidisciplinary artists, the new generation of art lovers who have adopted art as a lifestyle. While creating a new space for artists and musicians, we continue to develop joint projects with creative people working in different disciplines.

It was so lovely to talk and hear NOH Radio’s story, I cannot wait to experience the aura for myself in Beyoğlu!