Turkish Trio ELZ and the Cult Are Uninhibited in ‘Fire Meets Fire’

Turkish trio ELZ and the Cult’s heated, red-tinged new video ‘Fire Meets Fire’ does not hide its attempt to provoke in an uninhibited spirit.

In fact, experimental and testing in its blurring of the distinctions between a music video and a contemporary video art performance, the new video seems almost primarily dedicated to unnerving those unfamiliar with the band’s antics. ‘Fire Meets Fire’ appears at the crossroads of a SOPHIE-inspired hyperpop and an authentic dance of cyber-punk, which also features the occasional Vogue, performed with unapologetic, characteristic theatricalism.

Comprised of Elz, Eylul Deniz, and Efe Akincioglu, the Istanbul-based band gained critical and commercial acclaim in 2016 as the group distinguished itself within the city’s already-eclectic electronic scene.

Now, the overloaded new single, an unprejudiced embodiment of the conservative fears of “the future that liberals want,” exhibits ELZ and the Cult’s unwavering artistic expression centred and dedicated to the explicit.