Melike Şahin has made a career of facing down criticism and censorship of her progressive creativity: an expression of Şahin’s personal growth, her new album AKKOR is an affirmation of her growing status as the voice of a generation, and whose lyrics have been adopted as a call to rights for the women’s movement in Turkey. Although she does not describe herself as an activist, Şahin’s poignant lyrics have come to define the women’s movement in Turkey, with the words, “I deserve each and every inch of this smile,” adorning protest banners on International Women’s Day and celebratory posters at Pride.

Having performed around the world with Turkish psych legends BaBa ZuLa, Şahin released her debut album Merhem in 2021, gathering billions of streams and building a reputation for unforgettable live performances. While Merhem was about healing, AKKOR is about survival: personally coming to terms with difficult relationships, childhood trauma, and the pressures of newfound fame, as well as socially continuing to champion the rights of the oppressed in the face of state and media violence.