Mechatok

Anyone familiar with electronic music will know Mechatok, aka Emir Timur Tokdemir. He made his name touring globally and releasing a series of records and collaborations with some of the most forward-thinking artists of the past decade, from Drain Gang (Bladee, Ecco2k, Whitearmor, Thaiboy Digital) to Charli XCX to Lorenzo Senni. Often subtle in delivery, these works circulated widely across underground and adjacent mainstream scenes, quietly shaping the direction of experimental pop and club music and leaving a lasting mark far beyond their origins.

Tokdemir’s upbringing was suffused with music. He took up the guitar aged six and considered becoming a full-time classical guitarist. That trajectory shifted when his father brought home an Apple computer with GarageBand. Enchanted by its creative possibilities, he began producing music and releasing his first tracks via SoundCloud aged 14 – marking the birth of Mechatok.

Around this time, Tokdemir started frequenting clubs and soon set his sights on Berlin. Immersing himself in the city’s cutting-edge electronic scene of the 2010s, he connected with collectives and labels like PAN, Janus, and Staycore (which he later joined). His involvement in this ecosystem deepened quickly, leading to collaborations with Oklou, Toxe (with whom he formed the duo Emiranda), as well as with Ecco2k and Bladee – culminating in their 2020 full-length album Good Luck.

These relationships led to the launch of his club series Natural Mind in 2022 – a space for cross-pollination within his creative community. The series has since hosted performances from the likes of Evian Christ, Mica Levi, Elysia Crampton, Babyxsosa, Vegyn, and Florence Sinclair. Elsewhere, Mechatok contributed to more experimental projects, including Kim Laughton’s Defective Holiday videogame – whose soundtrack, released on Yegorka, took on a second life as an ambient record. His composition work has also appeared in the HORIZON videogame, exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum, and in sound installations at institutions like Haus der Kunst (Munich), MACRO Museum (Rome), and Oude Kerk (Amsterdam).

After years of honing his sound in the studio, Tokdemir is stepping up to share Wide Awake, his kaleidoscopic debut solo album. The record crystallizes a journey that is entirely his own, establishing Mechatok not just as a standout collaborator, but as an undeniable solo artist fully in command of his vision.

Everything on Wide Awake is tied together by a playful yet deeply intuitive sonic palette and a set of core, haiku-like lyrical themes. The album poses questions about the possibility of authenticity and the status of self-expression in the context of algorithmic flattening. Is it possible to exist online without turning yourself into a character? Can your character-self and your „real“ self coexist peacefully? If modern software tools make it easy to emulate any sound you want, how do you individuate yourself as an artist? Mechatok declines to propose utopian solutions and chooses instead to live with strange ambiguities, tapping their generative potential.

Having built up his community of fellow travelers over time, contributing production, guest features, and bonding over shared sensibilities, Wide Awake finds this network coming together in a new striking context. While the album features a striking cast—Bladee, Ecco2k, Isabella Lovestory, Tohji – and a host of other notable vocal samples hidden in the sounds, it’s far from being a feature-driven album. Each contribution has been intentionally selected and sculpted, spanning a wide emotional and stylistic spectrum while all filtered through Tokdemir’s precise vision.