Korhan Erel (no pronoun or they) is a non-binary electronic musician, improviser, composer and sound artist based in Berlin. Erel’s music covers free improvisation, conceptual sound performances, structured and composed pieces, music for contemporary dance, theater and video art. Erel performs solo, duo and group performances with improvisers, jazz musicians, dancers, in ensembles and orchestras.
Current projects and bands include Ephemeral Fragments (with Florian Walter and Emily Wittbrodt), Pep Talk (with Ayşe Cansu Tanrıkulu), Only With You (with Eliad Wagner), Les Desaccordeuses (with Anaïs Tuerlinckx and Cedrik Fermont), audiovisual duo with Liudmila Siewerski and Lettow Erel (with Gunnar Lettow).
Korhan has had three residencies at STEIM (Center for research & development of instruments & tools for performers) in Amsterdam (2005 & 2011), and was a guest composer at the Electronic Music Studios in Stockholm in January 2011.
Korhan has twelve CD and LP releases on ECM (with Trickster Orchestra), Umland Records (Germany), FMR (UK), Gruenrekorder (Germany), Creative Sources Records (Portugal), Evil Rabbit Records (Netherlands/Germany), A.K. Müzik (Turkey), Müzik Hayvanı (Turkey) and Kukuruku Recordings (Greece) as well as several digital releases.
Korhan has performed at Soundtrips NRW, Moers Festival, Labor Sonor, Klangzeit Festival, Borusan Music House, XJAZZ, All Ears, New Adits, Akbank Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, TADAEX, CHIII Festival and at many more venues and festivals across Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Americas.
Korhan’s collaboration with Sydney-based video artist Fabian Astore “The Threshold” has won the Blake Prize in Australia in 2012.
Erel has shown several sound installations in art spaces in Germany, Hong Kong and Turkey.
Korhan Erel 