Gursahhh and JR.Melon have injected fresh energy into the electronic music scene. In this exclusive interview, they explore their innovative ‘Ushuaia’ EP and provide insight into their artistic evolution.
Photo credit: Gursahhh / JR.Melon – Official
Gursahhh, an experimental pioneer, blends psychedelic elements with Afro-influenced rhythms, using traditional instruments like the darbuka to fuse ancient and modern sounds. JR.Melon, emerging from the disco scene, merges underground disco with electronic rhythms and pop influences in his sets.
Their collaboration on ‘Ushuaia’ EP, released by KMS Records, showcases their genre-blending prowess. Featuring remixes from diverse artists, the EP fuses influences from urban and coastal music scenes, marking a significant contribution to afro house.
In this exclusive interview, Gursahhh and JR.Melon dive into their creative process, discuss the importance of their latest release, and share their views on the evolving dance music landscape. They delve into the intricacies of their musical backgrounds and offer insights into the future of electronic music.
EG: Hi, JR.Melon! Hello, Gursahhh! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you right now?
JR.Melon: Thank you. I am in Istanbul, known as the “Queen of Cities” due to its historical and cultural richness, the fact that it has hosted different civilizations, and its strategic location.
Gursahhh: Thank you. I am in Cappadocia, which is famous for its unique geographical formations, fascinating nature, underground cities, ancient cave churches, and historical texture.
EG: So, first of all, thank you for your recent contribution to our EGNU series! We really enjoyed it. What can fans of the series expect to find on this one? How do you usually go about crafting recorded sets?
JR.Melon: I have a very long musical history. Since I have an education in the fields of Philosophy and Art History, I approach my music with a cultural perspective. At the same time, I’m always one step ahead of what’s current. This way, I can keep the listener in the “moment”.
Gursahhh: I witnessed the creation of many music genres after the ’80s. I have 150 HDDs with 5 TB in my archive, and this number is increasing day by day because now it is very easy to access music. I started with vinyl records, and since I have listened to a lot of music without separating genres until today, it is very easy for me to prepare tracklists.
EG: Now, congratulations on the release of your latest collaborative EP, ‘Ushuaia’! You must be psyched to have this one doing the rounds. What are some of your initial feelings now that the record is out and about?
JR.Melon: Thank you. Yes, ‘Ushuaia’ is a special song for us, and I will never forget the creation process. With the release of the album, there were congratulatory messages from many different countries of the world. This was proof that we were doing something good. Among the DJs to whom we sent the album through ‘Inflyte’, there were some who especially downloaded the album, listened to it, and commented on it. I would like to thank some of them through you for their nice comments. I would like to thank Andi Durrant, Paco Osuna, Joris Voorn, Shiba San, Melanie Ribbe, Ruben Mandolini, Richie Hawtin, Elif, Black Coffee, Joseph Capriati, Goldcap, Ilario Alicante, and Robert Owens. A few of these names especially searched for us on Instagram and sent us messages via DM. I would also like to thank the listeners who called us on Instagram and sent us messages after listening to our song on digital platforms.
Gursahhh: ‘Ushuaia’ is an important milestone for us. At the top of the names that care about the song are Mr. Kevin Saunderson and his son Dantiez Saunderson, one of the founders of techno and one of the most important music masters of the world, especially in the American music scene. On April 20, 2023, Armada Music, the world’s largest independent dance music record label, launched BEAT, the first dance music investment company. The company’s first acquisition is the purchase of a portion of the recording catalog of KMS Records, owned by Kevin Saunderson. The acquired portion is distributed globally by Armada Music (Armada Distribution B.V.). This is how you can understand what a valuable and important label KMS Records officially is and what an important music person Mr. Kevin Saunderson is.
EG: So, what’s ‘Ushuaia’ all about? Is there an emotional trigger or concept driving this EP?
JR.Melon: We’ve got the phenomenal talents of a diverse array of artists, featuring stunning remixes from Nu, Alvaro Suarez, Özlem Güzel, and Qubiko. Each artist brings their unique flavor to the project, creating a rich tapestry of sound that transcends borders and genres. With this EP, we’re not only celebrating the rhythms of afro house but also honoring the spirit of collaboration that lies at the heart of KMS Records.
Gursahhh: The EP opens with the title track, ‘Ushuaia,’ a hypnotic journey that encapsulates the essence of summer nights filled with infectious grooves and soulful melodies. With its pulsating bass and enchanting rhythms, we believe this track invites listeners to lose themselves in a world of euphoria.
Complementing this is a collection of remixes that beautifully reinterpret the original, each adding layers of depth and emotion. From the deep, resonant vibes of Nu to the ethereal touch of Özlem Güzel, every remix offers a fresh perspective.
EG: What was the process of collaborating together on this record like? Did you guys have a clear horizon in mind before you got started?
JR.Melon: We have already met for many years. We do DJing performances, except for our songs. We wanted to add some more Progressive items to Afro House before starting the song. I think North Europe, Australia, Japan, and America have dreamed of our sound reputation. Because these regions I mentioned have a lot more sound like trance, techno, and EDM. So “organic” sounds don’t have much to do in these areas. This time we were very slow if we were too “organic”. So we’ve tried to capture a balance for all world listeners.
Gursahhh: As JR.Melon said we have been making music together on stage for many years. We are not new to music, we are back! When making our music, we wanted to approach Afro house from an innovative and sustainable perspective rather than a traditional perspective. Afro house is a sound that is divided into 7-8 different subgenres and all of them sound very different from each other. Afro House was called Tribal house in the 90s, now it is called Amapiano. Because technically it contains elements of many other music genres. In other words, we are talking about a genre that starts from Latin and South America and extends to the inner parts of Africa. We thought that there should be some influences from Central and Northern Europe and North America in this.
EG: By the way, how did your relationship come about? Did you guys connect instantly?
JR.Melon: As I just said, we have known each other for many years. We have always made music together, and we will continue to make music together from now on.
Gursahhh: Yes, we have known each other for years. We feed off each other musically and get inspired by our common points. I think we both have one of the few dinner-music archives in the world.
“We have always made music together, and we will continue to make music together from now on”
EG: And what were your first interactions with dance music like? What does the clubbing scene look like in your hometowns?
JR.Melon: I started my music career in a club where only a limited number of people could enter, where the most established, iconic, and well-known Turkish “jet-set” in Europe constantly came to eat and have fun. Later, I continued to work in the restaurants and clubs where the jet-setters of the time came, in Bodrum, which is one of the few holiday resorts in the world and is generally among the most frequented points for yachts in the world. The Turkish jet-set was a group that only went to some restaurants and clubs in Istanbul and Bodrum, Turkey, apart from London, Miami, and the French Riviera.
It has always been very valuable to me to be able to make music for this limited minority with a very high cultural and economic level and to have my music appreciated. After this situation continued for many years, I started to meet with younger groups and students. After a while, when I looked back, I saw that I made people of all socio-economic levels, all ages, and all cultural levels love my music. The entertainment world in Türkiye is currently at a very advanced level. It is great to see this.
Gursahhh: Since I have been involved with music at every moment of my life, I can say that my musical background started with my birth. In those years, dance music was of course almost non-existent. Then, House music, which started with Frankie Knuckles, François Kevorkian, and Joe Smooth, and Techno music, which started with Kevin Saunderson, led music lovers to turn to more fast-paced music. Dance music, which had taken hold of America and Europe in those years, soon took hold of us as well.
There are 4 cities that lead the world music and entertainment life in the 5-month summer season today. Ibiza is undoubtedly the first among these. Mykonos is the second. St. Tropez is the third. Bodrum is the fourth. All four of these cities are located in Europe. South America, North America, Japan, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia are not among the points that lead the world´s music and entertainment life in the summer season. But of course, there are some local activities in these places.
St. Tropez, Mykonos, and Bodrum end as of September 15. The winter entertainment season begins in the world with the end of the Closing Parties in Ibiza, where the entertainment life continues until October 15th. The first event is ADE in Amsterdam on October 16th. However, Amsterdam is no longer among the winter season players except for ADE. There are not many events in the world after it. As of November, Miami, Istanbul, and Dubai start the winter entertainment season. In addition to these three cities, the fourth city is Bali.
In other words, Turkey is now one of the four best locations in the world entertainment sector, with Bodrum and Istanbul, both in the summer and winter seasons. In the last five years, the most well-known clubs and restaurants of St. Tropez and Mykonos have opened branches in Dubai. As of November 2024, 12 of Ibiza’s most well-known brands have opened branches in Dubai as Clubs, Beach Clubs, and Restaurants. The Turkish entertainment sector has opened many hotels and restaurants in Dubai. The construction phase of the 5 most valuable brands of Las Vegas continues in Dubai. In 2025–2026, they will also operate as hotels, restaurants, and clubs. In other words, we can now officially call Dubai the entertainment capital of the world. Cities such as Paris, London, Berlin, Milan, and New York are now far behind in the entertainment sector. There is a great change and transformation in the world.
EG: How do you feel about the current state of the scene in general? Have we strayed too far from our origins, or is everything just a part of the normal course of evolution? Is the line between DJing and entertainment blurring even further?
JR.Melon: People who act as animators at the poolside in hotels are currently making money. I think Pioneer is one of the most important entities responsible for this. A DJ playing records can never deal with anything else in the cabin. Because he/she must constantly follow the beginning and ending moments of the song on the record, and in order to keep the starting point of the other song fixed at night, he/she must constantly look at the other record, and while doing this, he/she must think of the song he/she will play thirdly, find that song from his/her bag, listen to it again to play it and then adjust the transition point. In fact, if it does not turn out as he/she thought, he/she must immediately think of a new song and find it in his/her bag. Can someone who cannot concentrate and focus on his/her work his/her brain in this coordination at the same time? No.
Pioneer was the one who disrupted this focus and coordination. It transformed the whole process into artificial intelligence step by step with the innovation and advanced technology it brought. In the early 2000s, what they did was not called artificial intelligence, it was called technology. It was called digitalization. Today, it is called artificial intelligence. The transformation of the process from technology to artificial intelligence is actually a marketing tactic. In fact, what is being said and what is being done is the same. Technology makes life easier but at the same time it makes people lazy. This situation is also evident in music production right now. As song production becomes easier, memorability has decreased. Because listenability has decreased. In the past, Warner Music, Universal Music, and Sony Music were monopolies. If you were going to be the biggest in the world, you had to release a song from these three companies. Now, you make a song in 5 minutes with superior technology. You instantly release it from Spotify and other digital platforms from your own label. You don’t beg Warner Music, Universal Music, and Sony Music to release your song. If there is a good A&R Manager in these companies, they hear your work immediately and send you a contract and you release your song again with a remix added from one of these companies 1 month later. Or one of these companies makes you a very serious offer and adds it to your label. In this case, you have a say in the party.
The moment the A&R Manager says I will release this name’s song from my own company without caring how successful he is, and the DJ’s company is also affiliated with one of these three big companies, a very unnamed name’s song is released by one of these three big companies. Or do these three big companies have to buy the biggest independent labels and make them their own sub-label? Or even if you are a very small label, you don’t need the three big record companies because you get a lot of listens on Spotify and earn your money from Spotify. Because when you are already actively earning money from Spotify, why should I share half of my earnings with Warner Music, Universal Music, and Sony Music? It becomes a situation. In a world where animators are ‘DJs’, it is a natural transformation for the big labels to lose their say.
Gursahhh: David Guetta currently describes himself as an animator-entertainer. Why? Because he doesn’t play records. In other words, his focus is not on moving from one song to another and applying mandatory processes while doing so. It doesn’t matter what he plays. It doesn’t matter in what order he plays. Because he doesn’t create the tracklist for that night’s performance. His managers handle this job. Because he doesn’t listen to songs either. His managers listen to the songs as well. So doesn’t he create the songs himself? You find the answer to this question. In short, when the situation is like this, yes, you are not a DJ, but an entertainer. There are many names that are currently among the best DJs in surveys and lists. But only David Guetta can make this confession and he gets all the praise. And he made this statement because he knew he would get these praises. But since I have been listening to David Guetta for 30 years, I also know how great a DJ he is. He is one of the creators of the French House genre, along with Bob Sinclar. He is one of the first names to play Afro House in Europe. Then he moved to the EDM genre. Now he is trying to turn from EDM to the House genre. Because now he probably wants to create organic songs and DJ organically on stage. Just like Tiësto, one of the creators of Trance, is trying to turn from Trance to EDM and from the EDM-Trance mixture to the Afro House genre with his song ‘Tanta Lizing’.
Among these names, Sven Väth, who is celebrating his 60th birthday and has probably received more gigs than Tiësto and David Guetta, has great ticket sales and still continues to play only records and does not stray from doing organic work, manages to remain the most admirable name. I think names like Tiësto and David Guetta are very much imitating Sven Väth’s organic style in their current period. In other words, we cannot expect old-school organicity from the generation that is just starting to DJ right now. Because there is no longer any production of cassettes, CDs, or records. Because there are no systems to play them. But even now, if DJs want to, they can perform very organically with Pioneer setups, like François Kevorkian, who is 70 years old and still playing all over the world, and Carl Cox, who is 60 years old and in demand all over the world, and they can not break away from the DJ mold and put themselves in the entertaining category.
“The entertainment world in Türkiye is currently at a very advanced level. It is great to see this”
EG: Finally, what can we expect from JR.Melon & Gursahhh in the next few months? Where can your fans catch you next?
JR.Melon: We have different styles of songs and remixes in stock. We made timeless songs. Therefore, it doesn’t matter when we made them. We will introduce them to our listeners one by one. We are also open to stage offers from Dubai and Ibiza. I hope more A&R Managers discover us. Because right now, we are in front of the eyes of A&R Managers as a diamond ready to shine. All they have to do to see us is look at us. If they look at us, they will see us.
Gursahhh: We are currently continuing to perform at various places with JR.Melon. As he just said we will continue to release our songs in stock in the upcoming period. At the same time, we continue to produce every day. We also have collaborations with surprise names. We are very close to introducing these to our valuable listeners.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, guys! We wish you all the best for the future. Take care!
JR.Melon: We thank you. It was a pleasant conversation. I would like to express my respects to Mr. Kevin Saunderson for trusting and believing in us and helping us bring this song to the audience.
Gursahhh: We thank you. Along with music, I continue to grow my other field, other sufi, which is my and Özlem Güzel brand. Behind every successful man, there is a woman he loves and respects very much. This person is also very precious to me. My dear Özlem Güzel. I offer my most special thanks to her.
Gursahhh‘s ‘Ushuaia‘ is now available on KMS Records. Stream and download here.
