Features
NODUS: “Identity always wins in the long run”
From local roots to global resonance, NODUS explores growth, identity and the future of the dancefloor
Emerging from Istanbul’s ever-shifting cultural landscape, NODUS has built a career defined less by momentum and more by intention. As both an artist and the driving force behind Houseyounite, he has gradually carved out a multi-layered platform that extends beyond releases and events into community-building, education and long-term infrastructure. In an industry often driven by speed and visibility, his approach leans towards durability, positioning, and the quiet work of creating systems that outlast fleeting moments.
In this conversation, NODUS reflects on the realities of operating within unpredictability, the evolving dynamics between regional identity and global sound, and his expanding vision across the Middle East. From Istanbul’s chaos to Dubai’s emerging potential, and from grassroots mentorship to the global stage of Hï Ibiza, his perspective offers a measured take on growth, timing and what it truly means to build something that holds.
Great to have you with us. Looking back at the first months of this year, how has 2026 started out on your side?
It’s great to be here, first of all, thank you. It’s my pleasure. 2026 started fast, but I’m not chasing speed anymore. I’m more focused on establishing a lasting presence, trying to position myself correctly through collaborations with artists I genuinely enjoy and performances in venues that resonate with me, and that can take NODUS to the next level. Not everything deserves your energy, that took me a while to accept, but it changes everything. With NODUS, with Houseyounite, it’s less about running after things and more about building something that actually holds. It’s slower, by the way, but better.
Istanbul has long been an important cultural crossroads, yet its electronic music infrastructure has faced cycles of growth and restriction. How has operating in that environment shaped the philosophy behind your projects?
These cultural crossroads also create an environment of chaos. Chaos can affect you negatively or positively, you have to manage it. I try to stay on the positive side and draw inspiration from it. Istanbul doesn’t really care about your plans. Things work, then suddenly they don’t, and you get used to that rhythm. After a point, you stop waiting for things to stabilise, and you start creating your own structure. That’s been my mindset for years now. If there’s no system, build one. If it breaks, build it again. It sounds exhausting, sometimes it is, but it makes you sharp. Being in Istanbul means constantly pushing and forcing things.
Your Houseyounite platform has grown beyond a simple label or event brand into a multi-layered structure including bookings, artist development and community building. What kind of long-term vision guided Houseyounite's transformation from a project into a wider platform supporting artists and the scene?
Houseyounite isn’t a name I chose randomly, it’s a name I came up with deliberately and intentionally. I never thought of it as just a label. It’s a home for those who unite, a home for the unification of forces, a home for the Ones, a home for the nightlife. This is a union I created so that others wouldn’t experience the traumas I went through during my peak popularity. We’ve become a family stretching from Amsterdam to San Francisco, from Dubai to Bali and Istanbul. Releasing music is the visible part, the easy part, actually. What happens around it, bookings, growth, community, that’s the real game. So it naturally expanded. I don’t really believe in “waiting to get lucky.” Houseyounite is more about creating a structure where people can actually move forward, even when luck is not showing up, which happens more often than people admit.
You’ve also invested in the educational side of the industry through Istanbul DJ Academy. What motivated you to move into education alongside your work as an artist and entrepreneur?
At some point you realise, if it doesn’t multiply, it doesn’t mean much. I’ve been teaching for years, and sometimes you see someone change direction with just one push. That stays with you. Let me be completely sincere and say this, and perhaps some of my students will read this: sometimes, the person who appears at our door as a prospective student might be a lost soul, gathering their last courage to put a plan into action. We have a mission and a responsibility here, we have to show genuine interest. The academy isn’t just about DJing, anyone can learn how to mix. The hard part is staying in the game, handling the ups and downs, and not disappearing after one good moment. That’s mostly the mindset. The rest is, yeah, cables and USBs.
Houseyounite is now preparing to open a Dubai arm. Hoping that the recent developments in the region will prove temporary, what made Dubai the right place for your next expansion, and how do you see the Middle East evolving as a market for house music?
Timing. There are very few places where energy, investment and ambition meet at the same time. Dubai is one of them right now, and it’s still shaping itself. It doesn’t have a fixed identity yet, which makes it interesting. You can actually contribute, not just adapt. For me, it’s not expansion for the sake of it, it’s about being in the right place before it becomes obvious to everyone else. The day the unpleasant events began in Dubai coincided with the day we shook hands and said “yes” to each other with our partner there. We shook hands, and four hours later the attack began. Will Dubai be affected? Yes, but for those of us who see it as our new home, it will likely have a delaying effect, I don’t think it will stop it completely.
How do you see the Middle East evolving as a market for house music?
I gathered my team and told them, “We are great people and we do great work. There are other lands that need to know us, and we are expanding into the Middle East without slowing down our operations in Istanbul. Indeed, that region has much to gain from us.” It’s becoming more confident. We will bring our music culture and a spirit of unity to MENA. At first it was more about importing sounds. Now there’s a shift, people are starting to reinterpret things, question them, and make them their own. That’s when it gets real. The next step is identity, and once that clicks, things tend to move very fast.
The electronic music scene in the Middle East has developed rapidly in the past decade. From your observations, what distinguishes the region’s audiences and industry structures from those in Europe and Turkiye?
There’s more curiosity. In Europe, everything is established, which is great, but also predictable sometimes. Here, there’s still a sense of discovery. People react differently, they’re more open, more present. As a DJ, you feel that immediately. It can go anywhere, which is slightly dangerous, but also why it’s exciting.
What are your long-term plans for the Middle East?
To build something that lasts. Events are temporary, you do them, they’re great, and then they’re gone. I’m more interested in building platforms, something that keeps working, with or without you. Houseyounite should become a bridge, not just bringing international artists in, but helping regional artists actually go out. That’s when it becomes meaningful.
From a broader industry perspective, what kind of potential do you see in the UAE today?
It’s already a hub in many ways. Everything you need is there, infrastructure, accessibility, lifestyle. What’s still developing is the cultural depth. Once that layer settles, it won’t just host the scene, it will start influencing it. And that’s when things get more serious.
In 2026 you’ll be part of the summer season at Hï Ibiza, one of the most influential clubs in the global circuit. What does securing a residency there represent to you at this stage of your career?
It’s a strong moment. Being included in the summer programme at Hï Ibiza puts you in a different context. You’re not just playing, you’re part of a bigger conversation. Hugel isn’t achieving his dreams alone, he’s also creating opportunities for those around him to achieve theirs. Even if you’re a producer you’ve only known for a month, if your track is loved within the Make The Girls Dance family, he won’t hesitate to support you.
Look, this is a whole new level, and I’m part of this family, and I want to show even more than I can. Hï Ibiza is one of the first steps in that direction, and there are other surprises in store too. And places like that don’t really book randomly, so yeah, it means something. But I don’t see it as “arrival”, it’s more like, okay, now let’s see if you actually belong here.
As electronic music becomes increasingly globalised, do you think regional scenes like Turkiye or the Middle East risk losing their distinct identities, or are we entering a period where local cultures will influence the global sound even more?
For a while, everything was sounding a bit too similar. Safe, global, a bit forgettable. Now I feel the opposite is happening. People are going back to their roots, different rhythms, languages, textures. That’s where the next wave will come from. Identity always wins in the long run.
Focusing on your production side as NODUS, what new releases are in the pipeline for the year ahead?
There’s a clearer direction now. More tribal elements, more emotion, less formula. I’m trying to move away from tracks that work for one season and disappear. I’d rather make something that still makes sense a few years later. There are some collaborations coming, and some unexpected influences as well. The sound is evolving. It’s becoming more recognisable, more NODUS.
