RECAP: Kaynaş Club 2025

On Saturday, February 1, the second edition of Kaynaş Club took over Melkweg—a night where Anatolian music in all its forms came together, effortlessly blending genres. Kaynaş, pronounced 'kay-nash,' is the Turkish word for "coming together" or "fusing," which is exactly what we aimed to create with this festival.

We danced to the electronic psychedelia of Oh Voyage, got blown away by Min Taka’s fusion of indie, liquid DnB, synth, and hyperpop, and were treated to a Turkish psych DJ set by Jasper Verhulst (Altın Gün), packed with gems from his carefully curated Istanbul vinyl collection. Supergroup Miskinler turned up the heat in UP with their infectious neo-psychedelia.

Taalhuis Amsterdam brought people together in our EXPO space with a language exchange, while Suzan Yücel sat down with Çiğdem Yüksel to discuss her work Je moest eens weten, which sheds light on the untold stories of the first generation of Turkish women in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Rainbow45 Records made sure visitors could get their hands on the best Turkish records, from prog rock to arabesque and from folk to hip-hop.

And for those who weren’t ready to call it a night, Kaynaş Nightclub had them covered—keeping the party going into the early hours with sets from Beraber, Rayne, and drag DJ duo kekik x ki

Before the night kicked off, a special Turkish-Dutch language exchange took place. In the EXPO, language enthusiasts gathered for an 'intercambio' organized by Taalhuis Amsterdam, where participants practiced together in an informal setting for 45 minutes—the perfect warm-up to get into the festival spirit and connect with one another.

After the exchange, Kaynaş Club visitors could stop by the Turkish language helpdesk in the UP BAR, where our language experts Filiz and Yüsra were ready to answer all kinds of questions. From decoding song lyrics to learning useful Turkish phrases—no question was too out there.

Inside The Ring is an ongoing photo and video series that began in 2016, following Ceren Saner’s migration from Istanbul to Berlin. Initially capturing her personal journey as a queer femme migrant in a new city, the series has since evolved into a visual diary exploring themes of connection, identity, and belonging. Driven by a dedication to reimagining and archiving stories, Saner challenges the rigid, binary, and cis-hetero-patriarchal framing of history.

Kaynaş Club is one of Melkweg’s four in-house festivals. Up next, on February 15, visitors can dive into Oyster, our UK hip-hop, R&B, and electronic festival featuring acts like RUBII, SamRecks, dialE, and Saiming. On Saturday, March 28, High Tea takes over the entire venue with the best drum & bass acts during High Tea Festeaval. And for the heavy music fans, Saturday, May 24, brings Pretty Pissed, our punk festival with acts like Urban Heat, Soft Play, Soapbox, and BILK.

📸: Joyce van Doorn, JVDPhotography