Redd lead singer Doğan Duru: 'We strive to make timeless songs'

12punto.com.tr / Arif HÜR

Appealing to those with refined and original musical tastes since they were founded in 1996, Redd is currently on the agenda with their new single 'Şimdi Seni Bulsam'. We chatted with the band's lead singer Doğan Duru, known for their 'timeless' and 'inclusive' tracks, on the occasion of their new single.

Along with their new single, we discussed Redd's career trajectory, male-female relationships, Spotify 2023 data, today's Turkey, and their new projects with Duru.

Your single titled 'Şimdi Seni Bulsam' has been released. This single is a continuation of the three singles you released recently... What was the starting point for this track?

When writing songs, you don't actually need a starting point; if you just follow an emotion, it already opens the right memories and the right doors for you.

When we look at the lyrics and the music video, there seems to be a bit of longing and a bit of reproach. What would you say about the video?

The music video for the song was shot in Berlin, where we went for a Redd concert. Güneş Duru, who shot the video, tried to establish a language through the Berlin Wall. Redd hadn't been to Germany for a long time. Berke Özgümüş and Güneş Duru leave me a bit alone in the videos, but they will have to be in front of the camera in the next songs.

The lyrics in the song, "I wish I had one last chance even if you spewed all your poison," are striking. They must be the final screams of someone who has lost?

I saw the loss in this song as the loss of someone who has to express themselves, even though they have already believed that there is no last chance and are already convinced that it won't happen, because I liken this loss to death. In other words, the word 'wall' there and the subsequent expression 'spewing poison' carry two different meanings, as I often do in my songs.

Speaking of losing and not being able to reach... Some philosophers say, "In love, there is no reaching, there is only approaching." Could there be any truth to this?

Love is fundamentally about seeking what is beneficial to oneself. This benefit can be a missing piece, or it can be things we have never possessed or known, or things we find opposite or contrary. Since we don't quite understand what we have found and to what extent, some materialize the initial philosophical desire for 'self-benefit,' while others leave it in a safe exchange of emotions and do not continue searching.

'I AM ONE OF THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR LOVE'

What is love in your view?

I think love is a person's unique flaw. To repair this flaw, one embarks on an endless journey with their own life practices, manners, knowledge, power of expression, and character. Some get tired and think they have found the most suitable medicine for it with worldly matters and continue to live with their wounds, while others never stop searching. I am one of those who continue to search for love. Even if I am sure that I will not find it, there is a common practice of love in the longings and memories of the sense of healing we try with the people we think we have found.

It seems there are quite a few people who put the souls they imagine into the bodies they like?

I don't think this is a calculated choice; the habits of every era are different... It is a fact that smart devices make people look as ugly as they easily make them look beautiful. I think the skin is a place of accommodation. What we are looking for inside and outside is clear. Moreover, it is a garment covered with pleasures, which is the most basic common area of humanity. And the mind, intellect, accumulation, and the ability to think as if bodiless—which I don't think anyone has truly succeeded at—that we call the soul, unfortunately, lives inside that body.

So, perception comes to the fore at this point?

People's choices are also influenced by all the perception methods of the era they live in. I think people continue to imagine the bodies they desire while they are still making love. The satisfaction of the body is very easy, whereas the 'devil' there, I think, is the soul that goes outside the body.

'PEOPLE ARE VERY FAR FROM RESEARCHING'

If we return to music... It can be said that the works you put forward are not conventional. You pour lived emotions onto paper and present them to music lovers with an aesthetically pleasing language. Is this what makes you different?

I don't know, my way of expressing myself on this subject can eventually be found repulsive by people. Even if we are not the ones claiming that we have a difference, we should think of this difference as a journey that we see for our own benefit. Frankly, some people are very far from researching; the subject of who is who is shaped entirely by perceptions that emerge as a result of numerical evaluation.

Could you elaborate on this?

Today, the contemporaneity of what people value is also a hunger to value every intersecting point numerically. When you criticize someone, they belittle you by saying, "Are you listened to by that many people?" When we started making music in our era, as people living far from what was listened to the most, we carried rock music and alternative music in Turkey to these years together with other fellow bands and artists.

Even though there were those who approached high listenership by presenting examples from highly listened-to songs, they had done so using their own methods among them. I think I can say that we acted differently at this point.

Do you define the music you make as 'timeless'?

Seeing that music is timeless is truly important. We also take care to ensure that our songs are timeless. We may have made mistakes in some albums and songs, but if a work written 100 years ago still gives me pleasure today, that is a serious event. Most of today's songs are constructed with harmonies and melodies that we once avoided. We are aware of the possibility that what we avoid might not be liked, but what matters is discovering our own diversity. It is not about trying to write 'Akdeniz Akşamları' again.

'TURKEY IS A COUNTRY THAT HAS LOST ITS MEMORY'

Spotify announced the most listened-to songs and artists in Turkey and the world this year. The three most listened-to names in our country were Semicenk, Uzi, and Sezen Aksu, respectively. Looking at these results, what would you say about the musical taste of the citizens?

First of all, one needs to look at who was there 20 years ago and who was listening to them. Secondly, Turkey is a country that has lost its memory. Half of those who appeared in the 'most trusted people' survey today were people who were seen as morally problematic in previous times. Yet today, they are among the most trusted people. If we look at political preferences, in the relationship between majority and minority, almost everyone is aware of the decay in society. Everyone experiences these in their own profession and life.

Can you give an example?

For instance, doctors are fleeing the country due to violence. Beautiful and handsome people who studied theater just because they are beautiful, and who could be considered untalented, are taking the lead roles in our lives. Everyone is in love with living in Sweden, and the heroes in the series there are not a Kerem and Şirin. I don't know when the realities of digital platforms will become understandable, but the results do not appeal to my tastes. It is also worth remembering. The current government in our country is also the government that has received the most votes for years.

'I AM SURE PEOPLE DO NOT FIND REDD SUCCESSFUL'

Is the measure of success being visible on social media, in other words, ratings?

Success is a result of perception that develops outside of yourself. I am sure that people do not find Redd successful, but there is one issue we must not forget. That is people's preferences... Perhaps I am not a part of that race that they think is innocent when it comes to my preferences. Being at an awards ceremony of a newspaper that misleads society, reports false news, and does not tell the truth today should be shameful for every artist, but as I said, this is a point of preference.

The preferences of those who love those people and what makes them appear successful is just this. Just because my preferences are not rewarded with success by others does not mean that I am unsuccessful.

'THERE IS SOCIAL DECAY AND CORRUPTION'

The country's agenda is currently occupied by news of phenomena accused of money laundering and scams made with promises of funds. Writer Özen Yula recently commented, "Wherever I look, there is intense nausea. At the very bottom and at the very top, in the far north and in the far south. An age of terrible nausea that doesn't go away even if you vomit." How do you interpret this age?

We are in an age where freaks, mediocrities, and frauds walk around like superheroes, where the untalented are put in front of us by algorithms, and where ruthless and seat-obsessed politicians are everywhere in the world. Thanks to social decay and corruption, some people always remain in power in various fields. This is also the case in culture and art; it would be enough to look at how many years the people who direct this business at the very top have been in these positions.

There are only a few days left until the end of 2023. What kind of year was it for you musically?

We had a year with many concerts. Our symphonic concert provided a unique experience. Seeing that our audience is growing made us happy. We have enough new songs and projects in our bag to bring those who haven't listened to us yet to our concerts. We will also have some surprises for Redd's 20th anniversary.

What are those surprises?

Redd will come with softcore, and we will make a symphony album. In addition, we will share the other songs of the album, which we have already started to release and have released four songs from, in the coming times.