Last Sunday and thousands have filled London’s Trafalgar Square as I slide through the backstage gates and embrace with a lovely red-haired woman whom awaits me. She’s the lead singer and song-writer of a rock-band waiting to perform. I’m at the first ever Turkish Day in London and Sudden Exit vocalist Sevtap Işık, speaks exclusively to Londra Gazete…
After a few snapshots of the band altogether, she sits on the edge of a table and I on a chair opposite scribbling away notes as we chat, in the end I resort to two phone voice recordings- oh the joys of technology!
So tell me what type of group is Sudden Exit?
We’re a pop/rock group producing our own material and own funded, we’re usually in a four piece but today there’s six of us for the festivals performance. We produce Turkish and English music and we’re based in London,we’ve been together for 7 years and I love what I do.
You and Ceyhun are married, what’s it like performing together?
That’s right, we are and we’ve been married for 10 years. We’re married, but when we’re on stage and performing we’re two separate people. It’s completely professional, we are two musicians doing what we love and it’s very formal. We don’t take our work home and find it easy to work with each other.(I can’t help but smile, because you don’t come across this often)
In the last six years as a band, how have you progressed and been so successful?
We perform in English and Turkish, that’s something that makes us unique and we’ve had our own EP launch at the 02Islingtonwhich was really good, it snowed that day and despite the cold weather we still had a turnout of 400 people. We performed in Istanbul at the Jolly Joker too, which was great and now we’re here today.
How are you feeling about the festival and performing today?
We’re really excited. We’re here and we’re representing the Turkish speaking community. The fact that we’re a Turkish/British band representing the multi-cultural diversity of our society isamazing and to be part of something so big too.
Where does your inspiration come from to write your own songs?
Everyday life, the trials and tribulations that I go through, it changes. Sometimes it’s something that has upset me, sometimes something I feel strongly about. A lot of it comes from my emotions, for example, ‘Don’t hold me down’ has anger and compassion.
A best and low moment since the band has formed?
We don’t really think of it as highs and lows, as long as we’re creating music and we are experimenting, developing and we’re doing what we want than that makes us happy. (I cut in, it must be really fun?) Yeah, it is, writing something and then it coming alive then you get to perform it to people. (What’s the buzz like? I say laughing and she smiles thoughtfully) the buzz, I think it’s the fact you get to share. I’ve written majority of the material, so I’m connected the music in a very specific way. So coming together with the band members, rehearsing, performing and coming together thinking of new things to do, it’s always an exciting journey.
The music industry is difficult to get into as it is what would your advice be to those trying to break through?I think it depends on what you want out of it, if you want fame out of it and so forth. With anything it depends on what you want to do? I think it is a tough call, but if you really want to do it you have to give it your all. You have to be at it, you have to be professional, and you have to be disciplined, pay attention constantly. I hold another job too, I’m a secondary school teacher and I do this because the reality of life is sometimes you have to work hard and be patient. I think as long as you enjoy what you do, you’re on a winner.
If you could pick any artist or band to play alongside with who would it be?
That’s a tough one, (we laugh) because obviously there’s four of us and we all have very different influences, I was brought up with a lot of RnB, pop and rock music.. Gosh this is very hard, do they have tobe alive? One of my most all-time favourite singers in the world was Nina Simone and obviously our genre of music is very different, but as in delivery and passion that’s what convinced me to do this. I’ve been singing since the age of four and when it comes to a band, there’s so many- again. Hmmm..not alive, Jeff Buckley, only so I could get to see him live!
What message does Sudden Exit give?
There’s a lot, it depends on the song. I deal with emotion so whatever I feel at that time, if it’s something political that’s upset me then I deal with that, if it’s personal and something in the solidarity basis of my life then I’ll deal with that.’ Hypocrisy’ gives a very clear cut message, then you’ve got ‘Two Lovers at War’ where there’s anger,hope and encouragement. I try to dwell on things that are important to me.
Describe Sudden Exit in five words?
Can I get back to you on that? We laugh and she does with a pleasant email the following day… Music, love honesty passion and drive..
