Album Review: Jakuzi - Hata Payi (City Slang)

Jakuzi’s Hata Payı descends into the muddy waters of human vulnerability. Released in 2019, the album’s title translates to “a part of the mistake,” suggesting imperfection is both embraced and scrutinized. Jakuzi doesn’t pretend to offer solutions. Instead, Hata Payı sinks into the uncomfortable reality of the mistakes that shape us, the regrets that bind us, and the distance that forms when relationships deteriorate. It’s darkwave with a Turkish soul. On Saturday, October 19, Jakuzi debuts in Bucharest at Control Club.

Their decision to sing in Turkish reinforces the unmistakable voice of Jakuzi, who first gained attention with their 2017 neon-lit debut Fantezi Müzik. Their native tongue intensifies the sense of reflection, grounding the music in Turkey's complex socio-political environment, even when the lyrics do not explicitly highlight political critique.

From the opening of Sana Göre Bir Şey Yok, Kutay Soyocak’s languid vocals weave through pulsing bass and cinematic synths. There’s a sense of detachment from others and oneself as if we’re listening to confessions whispered in a room of mind strangers.

In tracks like Şüphe and Kalbim Köprü Gibi, Jakuzi blends familiar darkwave aesthetics with Turkish sensibilities. Tension builds as Soyocak’s voice navigates between hope and despair. Şüphe stands out for its Bowie-esque flamboyance, where staccato synths, swirling guitars, and Soyocak’s charisma meld into something immediately retro, drawing immediate comparisons to Joy Division and The Cure.

The band doesn’t shy away from confronting emotional wreckage head-on. Ne Teselli Ne Avuntu dives into disillusionment with suffocating intimacy. You can feel the weight of disconnection in Soyocak’s voice as it plunges into sorrow while synths weave a web of claustrophobia. But, for all its bleakness, the music never feels oppressive.

While Hata Payı is personal, it reflects a broader global phenomenon: an increasing sense of alienation in a hyper-connected digital rhizome. The record taps into a zeitgeist of numbness, where the constant barrage of information, social media updates, and societal demands create a sense of being overwhelmed but emotionally under-stimulated. Like a digital troll manipulating emotions behind a screen, Hata Payı asks us to consider who or what controls our emotional responses.

Jakuzi’s album refuses to offer easy answers or solutions. Instead, it lingers in emotional ambiguity. Tracks like İstemezdim are haunted by the awareness that sometimes, relationships can’t be salvaged, and sometimes, our connection attempts fall flat. This theme of failure—of coming to terms with one’s limitations—offers no cathartic release, only the quiet acceptance of emotional frailty.

Hata Payı is more than another entry in synthpop or darkwave. It portrays emotional survival in a world that often feels indifferent to our vulnerabilities. Jakuzi doesn’t seek to uplift or inspire; they seek to understand. In this understanding, the band offers listeners solace: the comfort of knowing they are not alone in emotional messiness; our mistakes are not flaws but integral parts of the human experience.