Ductape - The Darkwave of the Crescent Moon

The rise of the duo made up of Çağla Güleray (vocals and synthesizers) and Furkan Güleray (bass and guitar). A Turkish duo blending contemporary goth with the roots of Anatolian music, for one of the most original projects on the new dark scene

by Claudio Fabretti, Paolo Chemnitz

For over a decade, the Greek-Turkish axis has proven to be a rich source of exciting new developments in the dark scene: just think of the huge success achieved by bands like She Past Away or Selofan (themselves heads of the highly regarded Fabrika Records), two essential names for anyone who frequents the shadowy corners of this movement. Ductape, the duo made up of Çağla Güleray (vocals and synthesizers) and Furkan Güleray (bass and guitar), hail from the land of the crescent moon and draw directly from that contemporary goth school shared by the aforementioned acts (to which we should add the international Lebanon Hanover, a group now acting as a driving force for the new generation).

The dark side of Istanbul

Ductape were formed in 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. The name was inspired by the English expression "duct tape," stylized in the band's logo as well. "You can glue back together anything that's broken and torn, but nothing will ever be the same as before," Çağla Güleray would later theorize in an interview with the German magazine Orkus. And on the influence Istanbul has had on their music, she stated: "Istanbul is a huge, crowded city, rich with history. You can feel the weight of all that. It's a fascinating place where tradition and modernity intertwine. Out on the street you feel tension, chaos and stress; then you walk into a club and find yourself dancing carefree until morning."

In 2020 the duo released their debut EP, "Little Monsters," through Tamar. Three tracks rooted in post-punk with lyrics entirely in English. Still a somewhat immature work, one that Çağla describes as the result of an intense, frantic phase in the two musicians' lives, while Furkan later explained what pushed them to move away from that sound: "While we were making 'Little Monsters' we were going through a particularly frantic phase of our lives. As a result, the songs on the EP had a higher BPM. With the pandemic, as happened to everyone, our lives slowed down. We started listening to our inner voice and had more time to reflect on our music, but we never planned to change anything. It happened naturally: we evolved our sound together."

In November 2020 came "Wooden Girl," the single that preceded their debut album, built around a harsh, confrontational lyric that tackles the themes of domestic violence and femicide head-on. A gripping instrumental backdrop — woven from booming bass, blankets of keyboards and scratchy guitars — underpins Çağla Güleray's anguished, livid vocal, as she narrates the story of a victim trapped by her abuser. The video amplifies this bleak atmosphere even further, translating the brutality and sense of oppression evoked by the lyrics into images.
Then, at the start of the new year, came their debut album Labirent (2021), released on the Swiss Dark Nights label. A title that, in the duo's intention, represents the feeling of being trapped in a labyrinth — the literal translation of "Labirent" — where every corridor and every room symbolizes a different song, and the search for a way out only leads deeper into the experience.
In the lyrics, Ductape pour out everything they reject: society's contradictions, inner chaos and the anger that surfaces when forced to confront oneself. The result is an album that's predominantly coldwave, streaked with dark undertones, but always built on solid post-punk foundations, starting with the catacomb-like incipit of "Bury," a gothic gem that sounds as if lifted straight from the early Banshees songbook.
Alongside the English-language tracks, two songs in Turkish also surface. But there's no rigid rule behind the choice, since according to Çağla, the choice of language "depends solely on the feelings the song conveys and on the first words that come to mind." Standing out in particular is the fifth track "Hata," which moves along a tight, relentless rhythm steeped in restless darkness, matched by the even more sinister "Tuzak," the other Turkish-language track placed right after it, embellished with powerful guitar riffs.
Melodies of Anatolian origin also surface, sometimes plainly, other times hidden within the folds of the arrangements, giving the album a distinctive sonic character that sets the duo apart within the lively Turkish underground scene.
Among the standout moments is also "Rain," a compelling electropop ride in which the rhythmic component takes centre stage. It's also one of the album's most immediate tracks, capable of channelling the darkness of Ductape's sound into a more physical, engaging dimension. Along similar lines is the shadowy "Empty," in which the synths let twilit horizons filter through a wall of beats, while Çağla's voice grows increasingly alienated and distant.
Less compelling are the closing tracks ("Mirror," "King"), which simply stick to the script without adding anything of particular note.

Inner Spirit

In May 2021, Ductape released the album Live At Radyo Modyan, featuring recordings from a live session for the Turkish radio station Modyan. In autumn 2021, another EP followed, "Araf" (Turkish for "purgatory"), which alongside two new tracks — including the single "Sevmiyor" — features remixes by Hapax, Delphine Coma and N.L.P.

Then, after just one year, it was already time for the difficult second album, titled Ruh (2022) — a Turkish word that can be translated as "inner spirit."
Darkwave, synthwave, goth-rock and post-punk are once again the foundations on which Ductape's music is built: styles that intermingle and converge in a whirling eight-track journey. True to its sources of inspiration, the album is pervaded by a strong nostalgic streak, evident right from the (semi-)instrumental introduction of "Sinners," which draws on British darkwave but also on the proto-EBM of DAF, unfolding into a sinuous, driving synthetic dance of almost five minutes on the theme of sin. The track was also accompanied by a video shot in Pompeii.

“Never” continues along the same lines, relying on bass and guitar to release atmospheres charged with anguish. With “Kesik”, embellished by the vocal contribution of Brek, obsession instead gives way to a sense of despair, once again punctuated by a pulsing bass.
Furkan Güleray and Çağla Güleray show they've absorbed the lessons of European darkwave, following the path opened by fellow countrymen She Past Away but enriching it with the anger generated by contemporary chaos. The strong electronic component, often tinged with industrial overtones, fuels a dramatic tension made even more intense by the incisive bass lines and Çağla's icy voice.
“Hatirla” is the main trait d'union with post-punk roots, though drowned in an irredeemable melancholy, while “Fire” plunges into the crags of darkwave relying on Çağla's shadowy register, and “Gregor” raises the tempo with a tight rhythm, accompanying tormented, anxiety-ridden visions.
In the closing stretch, the electronic abyss of “Sevmiyor” serves as a backdrop to a languid, introspective performance; “Sorular”, on the other hand, combines dark bass lines with an alienating vocal delivery that inevitably recalls the shadowy tones of Larissa Iceglass of Lebanon Hanover.

Overall, Ruh is a compact, engaging album that consolidates Ductape's rise, sharpening the focus on their sound even further while also hinting at some room for improvement.

After the release of Ruh, in 2023 Ductape relocated from Istanbul to Ankara, Furkan's hometown. This is the key premise behind their third work, to date probably their most important and well-received. Before getting to work on it, though, in June 2023 the duo recorded a striking cover of “Marian” by Sisters Of Mercy, one of the everlasting cornerstones of darkwave.

Echoes of Success

In October 2023, “Red Scar” came out, the first single from the new, forthcoming album, also featured in a scene from the film “Barda 2”, released in theaters in November 2024. A month later came the second single, “Veil Of Lies”, followed by the third single “Anafor”.
In February of the following year, the long-awaited third album, Echo Drama (2024), finally arrived, its first version featuring five songs in English and three in Turkish. Its impact on critics beyond Turkey's borders was immediately significant: the record was chosen as album of the month for May by the German magazine Orkus in its May/June 2024 issue. “With its dark, moving sound, 'Echo Drama' seems tailor-made for the 'Repeat' button!”, wrote Martina Wutscher in the magazine. Also striking is the distinctive fusion between icy darkwave rhythms and traditional Turkish/Anatolian melodies: “We're probably influenced by it on an unconscious level,” the two explained. “We've listened to it our whole lives: it's part of our culture.”
Echo Drama sets loose some genuinely vivid, inspired feelings, energy condensed into just a handful of tracks (eight in all) capable of lifting the two musicians a notch above average.
The three singles that preceded the release attest to the quality of the work, starting with the dramatic, driving “Red Star” (dominated by an overall coldness that's at times paralyzing). Shortly after came “Veil Of Lies”, the best track of the bunch, if only for its relentless refrain. “We think the peculiarity of its sound might stem from the sudden change that happened in our lives,” Çağla explained. “Since Ankara is considered a darker, more melancholic city than Istanbul, this song was a real surprise even for us. It's actually the first song we wrote in a major key.” Closing out the trio of singles is “Anafor”, marked by relaxed darkwave atmospheres.

Curiously, while the album's first five compositions are sung in English, the closing trio makes room exclusively for Turkish. Among the other tracks on the record, worth mentioning are the irresistible pulses of “Closer” and the more introspective “Duvar” and “Insan Senfonisi”, the latter even experimental compared to the album's other passages.
Without being groundbreaking (the stark, obsessive approach is by now a trademark for many bands devoted to the cause), Echo Drama represents the leap in quality many had been expecting: an album to dance to alone, mocking pain and those negative feelings that keep cyclically recurring in our daily lives.

In November 2024, Ductape, in collaboration with She Past Away, released the captivating single “Ölüm Günüm” (a title translatable as “The Day of My Death”), complete with a music video. A distinctive feature of the project is the participation of fans from all over the world, who became protagonists of the video's announcement through short home-made clips.
At the start of January 2025, “Blue Black” came out instead, an enveloping synth-pop number with dark hues through which Ductape further cemented their shift toward darkwave, followed at the start of February 2025 by “Fade Away”, an up-tempo track in which bass and guitar once again take center stage, marking a return to post-punk roots.
At the start of March 2025, Echo Drama was reissued in a deluxe version. The reissue also includes the singles “Blue Black” and “Fade Away”, with the track order changed. Besides the digital edition, two limited vinyl versions and two CD versions were produced.

Two years after the release of “Red Scar”, the first single from Echo Drama, in October 2025 the Turkish duo released “Fine”, the first preview of their new, forthcoming album Faded Flowers, followed a month later by another single, “Gölgesiz”, sung in their mother tongue and translatable as “Without Shadow”. As usual, the track was accompanied by a video, filmed during a stop on the Echo Drama Tour in Quito, Ecuador. At the end of March 2026 came “Obscure”, the third and final single from the new album, released in September 2026.
More than two years have passed since the release of Echo Drama, a period in which Ductape have shifted into top gear, helped along by the (deserved) success of their previous work. Countless shows around the world and, finally, a move from Turkey to Strasbourg, a new strategic base from which to channel a magic moment that shows no sign of stopping.
Faded Flowers (2026) has nothing to prove, because what matters most here is ensuring continuity with the past, without any radical upheavals or overreaching. Ductape clearly understand this well: it's no coincidence that the ten tracks on the record press unflinchingly along an already-charted path, moving between darkwave and stark post-punk (supported as ever by synthesizers and electronic drums). But the extra weapon here is Çağla Güleray's powerful voice, practically a guarantee for anyone who loves goth music in its female form.
The album takes off right after the decent but non-essential “Figures”, firing off some of its best shots first with the driving bass-synth of the single “Fine” and then with the crushing “Obscure”, a passage able to convey an indescribable sense of alienation and solitude. Indeed, the conceptual heart of the work is built on the image of humanity reduced to a field of wilted flowers: individuals hollowed out by repetition, isolation, expectations, and a growing emotional apathy. While the tracks sung in their mother tongue don't quite make the difference this time around (“Delilik” nonetheless stands a notch above the less inspired “Gölgesiz”), it must be said that the record regains altitude when Ductape make room for less predictable compositions (“Velvet Dawn” and “Sad Gravity”) or ones veiled in a solemn darkness (“D.E.R.T.” could well become a floor-filler in dark clubs).
Ultimately, though less impetuous and more measured than their previous release, Faded Flowers is an album that won't disappoint fans of the Istanbul duo at all, precisely because it represents the ideal continuation of a clearly defined path. A path through that greyness which continues to rage on everywhere.