Zafer Aracagök

Zafer Aracagök

philosopher

Zafer Aracagök is a philosopher and a de/composer from Istanbul who produces affective aural and visual concepts which find their point of departure in the works of Deleuze and Guattari with an interest to rethink the force of the negative in the philosophers’ work so as to fabulate new strategies in face of ontologising, affirmationist and accelerationist tendencies in contemporary philosophy and art. Concentrating on experientiality rather than experimentality, his sound works move towards a becoming-all-ears with no tympanum to welcome the coming into being of the -dividual.
Aracagök taught Continental philosophy and philosophy of art at various universities in Turkey and abroad. He published many scholarly articles on the issues of image, rhtyhm, resonance and noise in continental philosophy and particularly in the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari which appeared in international academic journals. Among his most recent books available in English are Atopological Trilogy: Deleuze and Guattari (2015) and Nonconceptual Negativity: Damaged Reflections on Turkey (2019) both published by Punctum Books NYC.
He started producing electronic/experiential music in 2000 under the name of SIFIR which means “zero” in Turkish. Between 2000-2005 he released three albums by Ada Music of Istanbul, the most notable of which was I am Stupid because I am Dead, I am Dead because I am Stupid (2005), commemorating Nietzsche’s philosophy and his collapse in Turin. Later on his albums, KOG (2009); I Want to be a Suicide Bomber (2011); Zazou and the Closets on House-Darkness (2013) were released by White Music Label, UK. His music also appeared in Sub Rosa’s Anthology of Turkish Experimental Music 1961-2014 in Belgium in 2016. His recent de/compositional pieces were released by Mille Plateaux/Force Inc. in Ultrablack of Music compilations in DE and by Rizosfera as Chaos Variation VII (with Obsolete Capitalism) in Italy and as Rough Trade Exclusive in UK in 2020. He released Shoedrift EP as a late homage to “shoegaze” of the 90s (Mille Plateaux 2021) and his last piece, Not Enough Negativity (with references to great philosopher Mark Fisher’s thought) is coming out in September 2022 again with Mille Plateaux.