Melike Şahin, the modern ‘Turkish Diva’ and a shining gem from Istanbul, performs her first ever UK show at EartH this November!

A singer, songwriter, and composer, she navigates across Anatolian pop and Middle Eastern sounds, blending contemporary and traditional music seamlessly.

The beginning of her dazzling artistic journey as the lead singer of the legendary Turkish psychedelic band BaBa ZuLa, led Şahin across 5 continents and over 40 countries in early 2010s. With the outset of her solo career in 2017, her songs reached millions of streams in no time, mustering a solid and rapidly growing audience.

In 2021 she released her much-awaited debut album Merhem, harmoniously blending pop, R&B and disco elements. Known for her passionate interpretation, poignant lyrics, and powerfully immersive stage performances, Şahin delves deep into such themes as womanhood, equality and love in this album. Her lyrics have immediately become feminist anthems in Turkey, chanted in unison during women's rallies.

Despite potential backlash, Melike Şahin uses her fame in Turkey to actively support women and other marginalised groups. Embodying themes of resilience and empowerment through phrases such as “I deserve every inch of this proud smile” and “No way I’d break down, see I got back on my feet again”, the lyrics take their place especially on protest banners in the fight for violence against women.

Melike Şahin continues to thrive, producing music tirelessly and through global collaborations. She is currently gearing up to release her second studio album Akkor, produced by the famous, Grammy-winner Swedish producer Martin Terefe, to her eagerly awaiting audience.

Opening the evening will be Zag Erlat of My Analog Journal (aka MAJ), a YouTube channel and community that shares vinyl mixes, highlighting and celebrating rare and underrated music from all around the world

Founded in 2018 by Zag Erlat and with the involvement of Shaqdi and Ceylan Göksel in 2020, the channel grew bigger and reached more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube in 2024. With the incredible support from its fan base, the team started throwing their own events in places like Jazz Cafe in London and Djoon in Paris. Since then, MAJ & Friends have gotten invited and partnered up with venues and festivals where they curated stages.