If Inji felt like she’d landed on a theme while writing “Teen Angst,” you wouldn’t necessarily guess it while listening to the mixtape as a whole. Its 12 tracks veering from the floor-shaking dubstep of “U Won’t” to the sound of an Arabic lute on “Boys Ain’t Shit” and the cheeky electroclash of “Bodega,” the project is a showcase for Inji’s remarkable versatility and her iconoclastic approach to genre. But what ties it all together is her eye for an irreverent lyric and ear for an irresistibly catchy pop chorus—even if, in Inji’s words, “it feels like a complete and utter coincidence that I ended up making dance music.”
Inji’s journey as a musician began with taking piano lessons from the age of seven. After a few years of study, her teacher suggested she apply for the Istanbul University State Conservatory, where she spent a decade studying music theory and classical piano. “It was very intense,” Inji remembers of that period of her life. “I think, by the end, there were three of us graduating in my class, and those other two are now concert pianists.” She then headed to Pennsylvania, where she kept her musical muscles working by participating in church choirs and jazz ensembles.
“I loved clubbing. I loved going out. I loved going to DJ shows. And my first friend in college, who was the drummer in my jazz band, gave me a house beat to sing on, so that’s where it started,” she recalls. “I didn’t even know what house meant.” (There are a few nods to Inji’s musical roots on the mixtape, however, courtesy of the jazz riffing that crops up in the intro and interlude.)
Photo: Hellen Elizondo
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