“Hayırlı Evlat’s work titled Let Yourself Go is a pop song and video inspired by Sinop, the happiest city in Turkey according to survey results. Judging by the responses given to most of the questions posed by Hayırlı Evlat to the residents of Sinop, this statistic, despite being useful for tourism companies, does not reflect reality. Still, some residents think they are more peaceful when compared to residents of other cities across Turkey. Hayırlı Evlat, who describe happiness as “a soft resistance” within the political climate of Turkey, makes references to the fake happiness featured in advertising images in this video, which starts on a beach, and moves to the forest to a game table to a dinner with rakı, where the acting is exaggerated. The empty promises of repetitive political discourses blend in with the wind along with chorus sung together by the performers, the accompanying choreography and the blues and greens of the background. Hayırlı Evlat transforms this form of popular culture, namely, the music video to create more inclusive representations, drawing attention to the dysfunctional or problematic areas of the system.”
Text written by Ulya Soley as part of “A Question of Taste” exhibition at Pera Museum, 2021.
Lyrics ~ Hayırlı Evlat feat. Mustafa Korkmaz aka. Musdef
Music ~ İbrahim Hekim
Camera ~ Malu Blume, Yusuf Emre Yalçın, Hayırlı Evlat
Script ~ Hayırlı Evlat
Set Assistant ~ Malu Blume
Voice recording, Production and Sound Mix ~ İbrahim Hekim
Sound Mastering ~ Cemil Hamzaoğlu
Choir ~ Cansu Kırcan, Çağatay Şimşek, Erkan Akliman, Yiğit Bahadır Kaya, Yusuf Emre Yalçın
Actors ~ Cansu Kırcan, Çağatay Şimşek, Elif Kuli, Erkan Akliman, Gülbahar Karaduman, Güngör Erdem, İbrahim Hekim, Malu Blume, Mustafa Korkmaz aka. Musdef, Nil İlkbaşaran, Sinem Hekim, Şenol Şener, Tuğçe Yılmaz, Yiğit Bahadır Kaya, Yusuf Emre Yalçın
Thanks ~ Ayşe Turkay Yiğit, Cansu Kırcan, Cemal Keskin, Çağatay Şimşek, Doğa Burak Hayırcı, Elif Kuli, Erkan Akliman, Gülbahar Karaduman, Hakan Yüksek, İbrahim Hekim, Kumkapı Beach, Malu Blume, Melih Görgün, Mert Karaçıkay, Mustafa Korkmaz aka. Musdef, Lizart Ajans, Selin Saraçoğlu, Tuğçe Yılmaz, Yiğit Bahadır Kaya, Yusuf Emre Yalçın, Yasemin Zamanpur