Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Kuaför Cengiz was a band stared back in 1997 thanks to the misery and insanity of living in Istanbul, Turkey. The original founders Albayrak and Çaykur founded the band on the way home from a stressful day at work. On payday, when their bosses told them they had no money to pay them. A day went there was no running water and garbage filled the streets of Istanbul due to a general strike. So many bizarre and inescapable events were taking place. Life was indeed unfair and these situations brought up so many dark and bad feelings, that music had to be written about it. The moment the idea came that a band should be formed, the members looked up and saw a sign on a shop that read “Kuaför Cengiz”. They both then looked at each other and said the words “Kuaför Cengiz”, laughed, and agreed that that was the name of the band.
Shortly after, Kuaför Cengiz (Kc) recruited their first drummer Özkülünk who had previously played for the Turkish death metal act Death Oath; and they went to writing what would become Kc’s first album called Istanbul Hatirasi (Memories of Istanbul).
However, police pressure and political action against Satanic killings in Istanbul that year had caused much of the metal scene in Turkey to be shut down, and Kuaför Cengiz would not be able to record their album until 1999. Since their original drummer Özkülünk was detained and tortured while being held in prison, he eventually went into hiding, and Kc was forced to find a new drummer who is today their present drummer, Şalgamripper.
After the release of Istanbul Hatirasi (cassette only) both Albayrak and Çaykur had to leave Turkey. Now in 2018 Kuaför Cengiz has returned to Turkey to release their latest darkened grind split EP with legendary grinders Sapik Inek (Perverted Cow) for the Turkish market and with the band GRAVEYARD (US) internationally. Kc’s present lineup is Albayrak (guitar/vox) Balici Berat (bass/vox) and Şalgamripper (drums). Kuaför Cengiz will continue to write music about the dark themes of humanity such as oppression, injustice, poverty, bribery, religious zealotry, etc.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Kc has always enjoyed all types of metal however we don’t aspire to be like any band. We classify ourselves and grind core but there are a lot of death, thrash and black metal parts to our music as well. As long as it sound heavy, has energy and is angry. Plus we enjoy a sense of strangeness.
Each member has different influences but bands like Messiah (old), Cadaver, Holy Terror, Carcass.
But it is the horror shows in life which influence our music. Disgusting, vile, human disharmony. We try to recreate these feelings in our music.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
For something dark and different you may find Kc interesting. Kc is definitely not mainstream.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
Our first release Istanbul Hatirasi had mixed reviews. The sound and style were a bit harsh for 1999, but more people are liking and understanding it these days. Unfortunately all cassettes have been sold so what is out there is out there.
Our new EP has sold well in Turkey. The EP is on vinyl only because vinyl is lasting. This cuts out a lot of potential listeners but we don’t give a fuck. We put it on vinyl because thats the way it should sound. If you don’t have a record player, get one, because you are missing an entire culture and musical perspective. Fans appreciate that we’ve gotten even heavier and still kept the same values which we held back in 1999. We are looking for distributors in US and EU.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Kc has face many issues with cancellations, earthquakes, government overthrows, political unrest, murders, and other strange instances which have prevented us playing live. We will however play live this coming OCT at festival in Ankara, Turkey called HEAVYSTAGE 13-14OCT2017, and then continue touring from there.
We hope our CZ label can arrange some dates for us in Europe. We’d also like to play in Romania where Albayrak lived for two years. and Bulgaria where Çaykur is originally from.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Labels/zines/promoters should give the album a listen and see that it’s a trip. Kc is raw in your face metal. If you enjoy metal and feelings in music then Kc has it., and the album is like a voyage, it is essentially one track and a journey. This is the start of more dark material in the future from this band.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
As mentioned earlier we will play our older material live to fans who have been dying to see us live for many years, and then go back into the studio for a full-length expected out in 2019.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
To listen you have to get the vinyl. Our split can be bought at: https://profsnyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kuafor-cengiz-graveyard-opus-v-split-lp or contact the band directly on facebook: @balikekmekhakkimvar
May 2018