Tendertwin is the musical project of Turkish composer, songwriter and performer Bilge Nur Yılmaz. Blending modern folk songwriting, layered vocal compositions and Mediterranean modal traditions with contemporary chamber textures, her work moves between intimacy and expansiveness — often unfolding through shifting melodies, cyclical structures and arrangements that “ripple in narrowing circles.”

Drawing from mythology, migration, memory and coastal landscapes, Tendertwin’s music combines acoustic instrumentation with experimental production and polyphonic vocal writing. Rooted between Istanbul, the Aegean coast and London, her recent work explores the meeting points between folk song, contemporary composition and intercultural musical traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Her debut EP Ship Argo received support from BBC Radio 4, BBC 6 Music, Clash and Blogothèque, and introduced a world of tidal imagery, drifting harmonies and emotionally charged songwriting that she is now expanding into her forthcoming debut album.

She has performed internationally at venues and festivals including KOKO, ICA London, Roundhouse, The Great Escape, Left of the Dial and Aldeburgh Festival, and has supported artists including Rachel Sermanni and Anna Phoebe.

Formerly singing with Boğaziçi Youth Choir and Boğaziçi Jazz Choir in Istanbul, Bilge has since been an artist resident with Oxford Contemporary Music, Institute of Contemporary Arts Creatives, Roundhouse and Britten Pears Arts, and is currently a composer on Sound and Music’s In Motion programme.

For this performance at Hara Istanbul, Tendertwin presents a stripped-back set moving through songs of yearning, tides, spirals and return.

Time: 19:00

Tickets available at the Hara Box Office and Biletix.