Frontman Ilhan Ersahin is one of those rare moguls of the New York City underground scene via his club and record label, Nublu, and he’s spread his New York energy throughout the world. It’s possible to see him jamming with The Red Hot Chili Peppers in Sao Paolo, or featuring Bugge Wesseltoft in Blue Note Tokyo or playing a beautiful oriental set with Turkish gypsies in an elegant concert hall somewhere in Europe. For this personal tribute to the city he loves, Ersahin reunites with his core Istanbul Sessions lineup—the same quartet that’s been igniting stages since 2009: bassist and co-producer Alp Ersonmez, whose compositional voice shines throughout the album; drummer Turgut Alp Bekoglu, providing the rhythmic foundation; and percussionist Izzet Kizil, whose traditional textures anchor the band’s east-meets-west aesthetic.

Above all, the Istanbul Sessions can aptly be described as cinematic. Since 2008 they have set fire to stages all across the world: from New York to Istanbul, from Paris to Sao Paolo, from London to Skopje. Their electrifying, genre-crossing performance posed questions: Is this really jazz? Doesn’t this sound like a rock band? Where does their sound come from? It’s master-level musicianship meeting high eclecticism where the cliché of “east-to-west crossover” finds its true sense and power. The interplay between Ersahin’s saxophone, Ersonmez’s bass lines, Bekoglu’s propulsive drumming, and Kizil’s percussive colors creates a sonic architecture as diverse as Istanbul itself. A session is a meeting of a deliberative body to conduct its business. In this case, the business is music, and the music is another heavyweight offering from Ilhan and his crew.

Their debut (2009) had french trumpeter Erik Truffaz as guest. “Night Rider”, their second release (2012) reflected perfectly their genuine sound in-between dance music and free-form-jazz flavored by some ethnic spices. Their third (2015) “Istanbul Underground” was a perfect summary of night life of never-sleeping metropolis: Istanbul (it was also reviewed as their best studio production so far). Their fourth studio album “Solar Plexus” (2017); having young genie Dave Harrington (the other half of “Darkside” with Nicolas Jaar) on co-producer seat, Ibrahim Maalouf, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Nils-Petter Molvær, Mauro Refosco, Kenny Wollesen, Erik Truffaz and Brandon Lewis as special guests, took 21st century music into another eclectic direction where no border or atmosphere can limit the power of the creativity. Their post-pandemic 2021 release “Bir Zamanlar Şimdi” is produced by Grammy awarded italian producer Tommaso Colliva.

“Mahalle” continues this trajectory with the quartet at their most cohesive. The album was co-produced by Ersonmez and Ersahin, recorded at Babajim Istanbul, and features the majority of tracks composed collaboratively by all four members, with Ersonmez showcasing his individual compositional prowess on select pieces. The release unfolds like a cinematic journey: October 3rd marks the album announcement w vinyl pre-orders for Bandcamp Friday, accompanied by the “Galata” single—the first glimpse into this new musical territory. The digital 45 series begins October 14th with “Galata/Karaköy,” capturing the essence of Istanbul’s historic districts, followed by “Yeditepe/Asmalı” on December 2nd, before the full album materializes January 16th. Two physical 45 singles will precede the complete gatefold LP experience.