Hakan Kurşun, a trailblazer in the Turkish music scene, is bringing the city’s streets to life through his captivating sound exhibition in Hanau.
A guitarist, composer, producer, sound researcher, lecturer, album creator, and soundscape artist—Hakan Kurşun is a force of nature in the music world. Known for his relentless energy and constant creative drive, he embodies a production-oriented mindset, never content to stand still. His latest project is the permanent sound exhibition Regeneration Klangweg Hanau (Sound Road Hanau) in Hanau, Germany. After performing at the exhibition’s opening concert with bassist Eylem Pelit and drummer Ediz Hafızoğlu, I sat down with him to understand the inspiration behind this endeavor.
Why Hanau? What is your personal connection to the city?
I was born in Hanau. My mother worked as a gynecologist at the Hanau hospital from 1964 to 1970, and my father was the human resources coordinator at the Dunlop GoodYear factory. My grandmother also moved here to help take care of us. We visited Hanau nearly every week because she lived here. It was an important part of our lives until 1981. After I moved to Turkey, Hanau remained with me, a city full of beautiful memories and my birthplace.
How did you get in touch with the administration of the city of Hanau?
The attacks in Hanau on February 19, 2020, deeply affected me. For years, I had been observing efforts to integrate communities through an integration approach, and I had also tried to integrate into the cities I lived in. At that time, I realized that the integration model wasn’t quite right for a progressive and participatory society. I believe a participatory approach is what we need. So, I wrote a letter to the city administration, explaining that as a composer, I wanted to create unique musical installations in public spaces for my birthplace. Thankfully, they introduced me to the cultural and artistic administration, and together with Mr. Martin Hoppe, the Head of Culture, City, and International Relations, we developed the project over the course of about three years.
What was the main idea behind the project?
I wanted to create a sound path. With the sounds I designed, my aim was to alter the existing flow of time and mask the surrounding noise. I envisioned auditory spaces where people could think and dream while walking. Hanau’s market square plays a central role in the city—every week, various markets open, and it’s where the community meets, connects, and integrates. I wanted to bring this participatory market atmosphere into other parts of the city through music. My focus was on inner participation—questioning how sound can reflect both the past and present while imagining a future of unity and inclusion. I aimed to express migration as a natural life impulse through music, shining a light on international communities and reinforcing democratic values.
How did you use Hanau’s history to shape the content of the project?
Hanau’s history dates back to the 12th century, and its location on the banks of the river Main and the Kinzig River has played a significant role in shaping the city. Hanau evolved into an industrial city, and its development has been closely tied to the life and commerce driven by these waterways. I delved into the city’s history, focusing on both its past and the broader story of migration. The architectural history of the market square, the social significance of Klinikum Hanau, and the industrial legacy of the factory all contributed to the foundational ideas behind this project, helping me create the main bridges of thought.
Were you inspired by the Brothers Grimm?
There’s a beautiful statue of the Brothers Grimm in the city center. As a child, I would play around it, and their stories have been a part of my life in different moments. When I revisited their original versions as an adult, I was struck by some of the darker elements. While I wasn’t directly inspired by the Brothers Grimm in imagining Klangweg, I can say that their influence was indirect. Specifically, the chapter Erde (Earth) in Klangweg is dedicated to those who have spent time in the market square and to the Brothers Grimm.
How many compositions did you create, and for which locations/points?
At first, I focused on the marketplace, the hospital, the factory, and the Deep Garden. Later, I added the French Boulevard and the Chateau Park. I chose these locations based on both my childhood memories and my current feelings. I have vivid memories of the marketplace’s diversity of people. My mother worked at the hospital, and I was born there. My father worked at the factory, and I often joined him for workers’ rights association meetings. The Deep Garden, by the river Kinzig, was very close to our house, and my mother would take me there. These memories come to me in fragmented, brief flashes. The French Boulevard, established in the late 16th century for Calvinist immigrants, is one of the city’s first zones of systematic immigration. The Chateau Park, located in the city center, is a beautiful recreational area. For each of these places, I composed a piece. I spent a lot of time considering what instruments to use, what to play, and why. Initially, I envisioned it as a temporary urban installation for public listening. But when the municipality decided to make it permanent early this year, I shifted to deeper creative processes, refining my compositions and completing the recordings.
Can you tell us a bit about the musical structure of the compositions?
My composition Geburt (Birth), located in the garden of Klinikum Hanau Goethe University Hospital, is a 10-minute journey. I approached the stages of birth through harmony, melody, and musical time, performing it in an open, free time without using a metronome. The piece reflects the natural, unstructured flow of birth, guiding the listener through the experience in a deeply personal and immersive way.
My composition Traum (Dream), located on the bridge over the Kinzig River leading to the Tiefgarten (Deep Garden), is a sonic reflection of my belief in the uniqueness of each individual. It has an open and serene structure, with tensions that symbolize the constructive challenges inherent in life.
Regen (Rain), located on the French Boulevard, represents the unifying power of rain. This composition, which I created in 2020 to honor the victims of the Hanau attacks, features a variable structure and blends acoustic and electronic sounds.
My composition Kraft (Force), placed on the wall of the entrance gate to the former Dunlop factory, now Goodyear, is dedicated to those who have worked and continue to work in the factory. The sound texture features the bendir and acoustic guitar, symbols of strength. The temporal structure has broad accents, and the melodies convey a sense of repetitionlessness. As the piece progresses, electronic instruments gradually join the acoustic ones. The overall structure represents the ongoing search for strength.
The piece Erde (Earth), located on the side wall of the historical municipality building in the market square, is a tribute to the people who have spent time in the market square, will spend time there, and to the Grimm brothers, as I mentioned earlier. This composition is structured around a fixed perception of time, with sharp phrases represented by guitar and bass lines. The sound texture mirrors the rhythm of life in the market square.
Finally, Weite Zeit (Geniş Zaman), located on the railing of the pond in the garden of the former city castle, is a sound recording dedicated to the composer Paul Hindemith, who lived in Hanau. Hindemith’s 1935 report Vorschläge für den Aufbau des Türkischen Musiklebens (Suggestions for the Structuring of Turkish Musical Life), written after his research in Turkey, is an important document in the history of music. Weite Zeit musically questions the past, bends the present, and imagines the future, with an eclectic structure. Its electronic sounds symbolize the future.
How can the curious find these pieces?
The pieces can be accessed through QR codes placed on signs at six key locations throughout the city, as well as on the Google Earth map and the Hanau Municipality website.
Dear Hakan, even the wind can’t keep up with your speed—congratulations. However, there’s one more thing I’m eagerly anticipating: the vinyl release of your first album Kaos…
Yes, we’ve talked about that. I’m definitely working on it. I’m pressing the button right now…
