Inal Bilsel

İnal Bilsel (born October 6, 1983) is a Cypriot composer, producer and academic. His work blends orchestral, electronic, and ambient elements and span various genres, including soundtracks, jazz fusion, and experimental music. His compositions have been featured in films, multimedia installations, and live performances. In 2007, his piece "Nialy's Dream" won the first in Notion composition competition resulting in a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra and a recording session at Abbey Road Studios. He has released several works through the Epic Istanbul label, a division of Sony Music Turkey. He currently serves as the founding director of the Sound Arts and Design department at Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design in Kyrenia, Cyprus
==Early Life and Education==
Inal Bilsel was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. He began his formal education in music composition at the Eastern Mediterranean University, where he studied under composers Jean-Michel Boulay, Goce Kolarovski, David Hanner and Miroslav Spasov. His undergraduate portfolio included chamber works and a Concerto for Piano and Strings, influenced by composers such as Bohuslav Martinů, Béla Bartók, and Igor Stravinsky.
In 2005, Bilsel pursued a Master’s degree in composition at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he studied under Philip Cashian, Tansy Davies, and Brian Lock. His final project, Nilay’s Dream, won the 2007 Notion Composition Competition, resulting in a performance and recording by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.
After completing his Master's degree, Bilsel shifted his focus toward computer-aided music production, releasing his debut album A New Beginning in 2009. He later returned to academia, pursuing a second Master's in Visual Arts and Communication Design while teaching at the Eastern Mediterranean University. During this time, his work increasingly explored the intersection between music and narrative storytelling. His audiovisual performance Tales From The Future integrated narrative elements, historical references, and mid-20th-century media into a musical soundscape.
Bilsel later returned to Royal Holloway to pursue a PhD in Music Composition under the guidance of Brian Lock. His research investigated the use of music to evoke nostalgia and memory, with a particular focus on fictional worlds. This research has influenced his compositional style, leading him to incorporate themes of hauntology and nostalgia in his work.
==Career==
Bilsel's work often explores speculative and dystopian themes. One of his signature works revolves around the concept of SimTapes, which imagines a fictional technology that allows users to experience artificial memories. This concept was developed into an audiovisual installation, Tape Den, which blended narrative, historical references, and mid-20th-century media within a quasi-museum exhibit. An obvious nod to the 19th-century opium dens, the commentators have described Bilsel's use of speculative fiction to comment on human alienation and artificial emotional experiences. 
Commenting on his work, in an interview, he has described each of his projects as forming "small worlds" where music is a vessel for storytelling. Throughout his career, Bilsel has drawn inspiration from a variety of artists and genres. In an interview, Bilsel discussed how Greek composer Vangelis has significantly shaped his approach to music composition.
===Albums===
Inal Bilsel's debut album, A New Beginning, was initially self-released in 2009 and later re-released by Sony Music Turkey in 2019. The album marked a shift in Bilsel’s musical direction, as he began to explore ambient soundscapes, electronic textures, and psychedelic rock influences. His 2017 album Paradise Lost, released by Epic Istanbul, was noted for its exploration of dystopian worlds, complex soundscapes and thematic depth. Paradise Lost has been interpreted in terms of its philosophical exploration with the human condition. Another core theme of the album is viewing childhood and Cyprus as lost paradises. Using music to probe existential themes of memory, longing, and the disillusionment that comes with the collapse of utopian dreams. 
===Performances and festival appearances===
Bilsel has performed at national and international festivals. His immersive audiovisual project Tales From The Future was featured in Sónar Istanbul, and Cypriot music festivals such as, Fengaros, Farma Project, Buffer Fringe, Electric Cicadas, and Maki Fest. 
Most recently, Bilsel formed a more band-centric project called Nostalgia For The Future, where he is joined by vocalists Ezgi Akgürgen and Naz Atun, drummer Uğur Güçlü, and bassist Onur Kasapoğlu. This project adds a more traditional band structure to Bilsel's music while retaining his blend of synth-heavy, futuristic soundscapes. The group has performed at festivals in Cyprus, including Fengaros (where they performed twice), Afro Banana Festival, and Buffer Fringe.
===Music for film and stage===
Inal Bilsel has composed the score of several Cypriot short films. He composed the score for Bir Annenin Sonatı (2020), a short film directed by Fehmi Öztürk, which explores themes of familial relationships and dystopian futures. The film was showcased at the Antalya Altın Portakal Film Festivali. Other works include Free Fun (2020), also directed by Öztürk and The Hunt (2019) by Sholeh Zahrei and Kamil Saldun. Bilsel has also worked on The Delivery (2020) and Random Attempts (2016), two short films directed by Doğuş Özokutan that have been featured in film festivals, including the Cannes Short Film Corner. His score for Letters to Cyprus (2014), directed by Sholeh Zahrei and Kamil Saldun, reflects his engagement with Cypriot themes and cultural history, which often appear in his work. 
More recently, Inal Bilsel participated in the Eklektik Manifest festival, exploring themes such as identity, memory, and cultural displacement. The exhibition invited Cypriot artists from the diaspora to contribute to a dialogue on these topics. For the festival, Bilsel collaborated with director Handan Ergiydiren and actress Güneş Kozal in a narrative performance derived from the works of the Turkish avant-garde writer Sevim Burak. The interdisciplinary project explored the boundaries between music, text, and performance, aiming to interpret Burak's fragmented literary style through soundscapes and multimedia elements.
In addition to his film work, Bilsel's music was featured in the video game Q.U.B.E. and on the theatrical production Hüzün, Ana ve Çocukları, which explored themes of resilience against the backdrop of the Cyprus conflict.
===Exhibitions and other artistic works===
In addition to his music composition and production work, Inal Bilsel has been involved in various group and solo exhibitions. One of his more recent contributions was in Meaningful Coincidences (2023), a posthumous exhibition honoring Cypriot painter Ayhan Menteş, for which Bilsel composed Three Sketches in Aquamarine. In 2021, he collaborated with Aycan Garip to create original music for Mete Hatay's solo exhibition Palimpsest, performing live during the exhibition's opening night.
In 2019, Bilsel contributed to the Cyprus - Wonder Island collection as part of the Imago Mundi project, an initiative by the Benetton Group. The project brings together artists worldwide to create a global art collection, which aims to foster artistic dialogue across geographical boundaries. Bilsel’s work was displayed alongside many other Cypriot artists, highlighting Cyprus's cultural and artistic diversity.
Bilsel also contributed to the group exhibition Altın Üstün (2019), producing new music and performing live. That same year, he participated in Kesin Birşey Yok with a video installation titled Domestication of the Human Species. Bilsel’s 2017 work Tape Den was part of Planites, a group exhibition in Paphos during its year as European Capital of Culture. This video and music installation paralleled his album Paradise Lost and explored similar themes related to SimTapes. Earlier group exhibitions include SKT (2016), Etkenlik (2015), He/She/It (2014), and Happening (2013), with the latter marking a turning point in Bilsel's career, fostering long-term artistic collaborations.
==Research and Artistic Approach==
Bilsel’s academic research, especially during his PhD studies at Royal Holloway, has centered on nostalgia and hauntology, exploring how music can evoke memory and emotional depth. His thesis, Creating Small Worlds: Approaches to a Nostalgia-Driven Concept Album, focused on the role of music in creating immersive environments.
 
As a native of Famagusta, Bilsel has worked on several projects that sought to preserve and reinterpret the city's past for future generations. In addition to his academic exploration of nostalgia and memory, Bilsel has contributed to various cultural events and festivals centered on these themes. One such event was the Famagusta Museum Festival, where his work examined the intersection of personal and collective memory in the context of the region’s complex history.
His work is deeply influenced by his experiences growing up near the Varosha border in Famagusta, a site of significant historical and emotional weight due to the unresolved Cyprus conflict. The deserted town, once a thriving center, now serves as a poignant reminder of the divisions on the island. In an interview, Bilsel discussed how the haunting presence of Varosha and the ongoing conflict deeply shape his artistic vision, where themes of memory, loss, and identity are recurrent.
In interviews, Bilsel has articulated his view that music acts as a crucial stabilizing force which underscores the role of music in maintaining balance and insight in a world that can often feel disordered and overwhelming.
==Discography==
* A New Beginning (2009)
* Paradise Lost (2018)
* Transmissions (2020)
Category:Cypriot composers
Category:Cypriot film score composers
Category:1983 births
Category:Producers
Category:Academics