Music shaped GÜLDESTE’s life from the very beginning — singing with her father, surrounded by the sounds of Progressive Rock, classical music, and Turkish folk traditions.
Her travels have been equally formative: a transformative 2014 journey to Varanasi, one of India’s most sacred music cities, immersed her in the depth of classical Indian music.
Encounters with nomads and musicians across India, Nepal, and Middle East further enriched her sonic palette, infusing her compositions with visions that are at once utopian and dystopian.
Born in January 1989 and raised in İzmir, Turkey, GÜLDESTE is a singer, violinist, c omposer, and performer who defies boundaries and expectations.
Now based in Cologne, Germany, she studied violin, solmisation, and chamber music at prestigious institutions, the Detmold University of Music, the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, and the State Conservatory in İzmir.
Her artistic vision has also been shaped by journeys through India, Nepal and to Middle East, and beyond — worlds that expanded her imagination and deepened her sonic palette.
Before stepping fully into the force of her solo universe, she moved through experimental music, performance art, and cross-disciplinary projects — and she continues to do so. She composes for visual works, video art, and contemporary dance, creating sonic landscapes that blur the line between music, movement, and cinematic imagination.
SELECTED WORKS
The beating heart of her artistic universe
With her solo debut EP Fruit Cake, GÜLDESTE ignites the next stage of her a rtistic journey, transforming versatility and experimentation into a unique s ound world that blends Electro, Funk, Pop, and diverse cultural influences i nto a fearless, genre-defying statement.
Vibrant, colourful, sonic worlds
Her former long-term passion projects,
the bands MAHLUKAT and MAHA PUDMA, left a lasting imprint on her musical identity and stage presence.
Compositions for Dance and Video Art
‘‘I come here to listen… to turn off the voice in my head until I can hear the voices outside it. Something more– something that is not me, for which we have no language, the wordless being of others in which we are never alone. After the drumbeat of my mother’s heart, this was my first language. I could spend a whole day listening, and a whole night. Listening in wild places, we are audience to conversations in a language not our own.”
‘Elevation’ is based on a poem from Charles Baudelaire and includes additional inspiration from the book, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It is a ceremony for nature where we dance for the regeneration of the world. The piece explores the dualities of destruction and creation, greed and generosity, despair and restoration- all which are prominent aspects of our human relationship to the natural world. The goal of the piece is to use dance as a tool to move people into more conscious states of gratitude, awareness and care, therefore contributing to life in better reciprocity with nature. ‘Elevation’ is made possible by Theater Felina-Areal.
I en I passant I is something that passes us, that happens – “by the way”. It stresses the ephemeral aspect of a moment and the way things can just happen without us noticing. The dance piece by Michelle Cheung and Julie Pecard with live music from duo Mahlukat, explores experiences that connect all four women: freeing themselves from the cocoon of their origins to be able to find a new home where they can be themselves independently: where they can find themselves “en passant” while dealing with the everyday aspects of their lives.
DATES
17.01.26 – Fruit Cake Reloaded – @LAB, Mannheim
16.01.26 – Fruit Cake Reloaded – Premiere @LAB, Mannheim
09.01.26 – with Niko Seilbold’s Elfton Ensemble in @Jazz Club Singen
20.12.25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! – @TBA, Mönchengladbach
14. & 15. Nov. – Listening In Wild Places @Im Alten Klärwerk, Mannheim
5. Oct. 25 – MUSIKWELTEN @die Diakoniekirche Luther, Mannheim
14. Aug. until 14. September – SHOWING AI meets Art at Karlsruhe Palace with Benjamin Jantzen @Schlosslichtspiele, Karlsruhe
26. Aug. 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @Medusa Rising Festival, Mönchengladbach
23. Aug. 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @CCD, KÖLN
22. Aug. 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @Moyn Festival, Osten
2. Aug. 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @Zugvögel Festival, Eifel
18. July 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @Exhibition ‘Boxing Culture’ – Pforzheim
5. July 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @RAKITA, KÖLN
21. June 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @House of Namus Festival, Oberhausen
18. May 25 – Güldeste feat. Benjamin @B Seite Festival Alte Feuerwache, Mannheim
4. May 25 – Nadav Erlich Septet feat. Güldeste @Projekt AGORA Festival – Gare du Nord, Basel
5. April 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @Mülheimernacht, KÖLN
4. April 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @Tempel, Karlsruhe
1. April 25 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @CafeGalao, Stuttgart
15. June 24 – GÜLDESTE ‘New Age meets Crossoverpop’ Sensation! @Kulturbunker Mülheim, KÖLN
1. / 2. June 24 – Listening In Wild Places @Im Alten Klärwerk, Mannheim
27. April 2024 – Güldeste & Benjamin @LAB, Mannheim
23. April 24 – Maha Pudma, @Galao, Stuttgart
21. March 24 – Güldeste, TBA, Heidelberg
9. / 11. Feb 24 – Güldeste & Simon by House of Crinoline, @Wagenhallen, Stuttgart
9. Dec 23 – Güldeste feat. Benjamin @LAB, Mannheim
14. Oct 23 – Mahlukat, @Arty Farty Galery, Köln
28. Sep 23 – Mahlukat by Raketenradio in Concert @La casa del consumo, Stuttgart
15. Sep 23 – Salon -Umgezogen with Citizen.Kane.Kollektiv Urbäng Festival @Orangerie, Köln
19. Aug 23 – Maha Pudma plays Klangskulptur by Nevin Aladağ @Kunstmuseum, Baden Baden
1. Aug 23 – Mahlukat & Ivan Shopov @Galao, Stuttgart
29. JuLy 23 – Mahlukat & Ivan Shopov @Omm, Mannheim
22. JuLy 23 – Für die Sache -Eine interdisziplinäre, partizipative Performance der Esser*innen @Agrikulturfestival, Freiburg
22 & 25. JuNe – Künstler*innen Begegnung Bodensee, Improvisationskunst @Lichtenstein
10. Dec 22 – Mahlukat feat. Ivan Shopov @Kulturtempel, Karlsruhe
9. Dec 22 – Mahlukat feat. Ivan Shopov @E-werk, Freiburg
7. Dec 22 – Mahlukat feat. Ivan Shopov @Galao, Stuttgart
2. Dec 22 – Maha Pudma @Karlstorbahnhof, Heidelberg
23. Nov 22 – Güldeste feat. Arno Krokenberger @tba, Mannheim
19. Nov 22 – Omm ENSEMBLE @Orientalische Musikakademie, Mannheim
3. & 4. & 5. Nov 22 – Happy Ending @tba, Hamburg
14. Oct 22 – Maha Pudma @Forum, Mannheim
14.-17. Sep 22 – Out and Around @Eintanzhaus, Mannheim
22. JuLy 22 – Maha Pudma @Atelier Schlecker, Stuttgart
16. JuLy 22 – Mahlukat & Ivan Shopov Release Concert @Alte Feuerwache, Mannheim
23. JuNe 22 – Maha Pudma @Import Export, München
8. JuNe 22 – Klangformator with Güldeste @E-Werk, Freiburg
4. JuNe 22 – Mutter!sound and Mahlukat @Kolbhalle, Köln
2. JuNe 22 – Mutter!sound Audio Installation @Kolbhalle, Köln
27.-28.-29. Mai 22 – LIWP @Im Alten Klärwerk, Mannheim
26. May 22 – Premiere, Listening In Wild Places @Im Alten Klärwerk, Mannheim
15. May 22 – Mahlukat @Cafe Soleil, Köln
29. April 22 – Mahlukat @Kukab, Basel
28. April 22 – Niko Seibold Large Ensemble feat. Yumi Ito @Jazzcampus, Basel (CH)
8. & 9. April 22 – Happy ending with Backsteinhaus Produktion @Wilhelma Theater, Stuttgart
1. & 2. April 22 – Happy ending with Backsteinhaus Produktion @Wilhelma Theater, Stuttgart
31. März 22 – Happy ending with Backsteinhaus Produktion @Wilhelma Theater, Stuttgart