That’s how it was with SHE PAST AWAY

Hamburg, Markthalle, May 9, 2026
Opening act: Isla Ola

Dance music for the most beautiful kind of lostness

The Markthalle can take on many colors. Tonight, it’s dressed in black again. Not the loud, bold black of a pose, but that matte, deep black that swallows the light and draws people closer to the stage. She Past Away are coming to Hamburg with their “Mizantrop Tour 2026” and bringing with them a form of dark wave that doesn’t rely on nostalgia, even though it’s deeply rooted in the DNA of the eighties. The duo from Turkey, consisting of Volkan Caner and Doruk Öztürkcan, blends post-punk, dark wave, cold guitar tones, and synthetic intensity into a sound that has long resonated internationally—partly because the Turkish language here doesn’t come across as exotic, but rather as an additional layer of shadow.

Mist rising from cold rooms

Isla Ola are more than just the opening act this evening. The German duo from Dortmund operates in the realm of coldwave, darkwave, and post-punk; Stefan lays down the synthetic and guitar-driven textures, while Jesmari lends the songs a distinctive weight with her deep, melancholic voice. Their sound is often described as foggy, isolated, and emotionally cold—and yes, that pretty much nails it. The opening with “Warum kommst Du nicht vorbei zu mir?” and “Alles Grau” feels like an open door into a dimly lit room. After that, “Augen Körper Herz” and “Gelaufen” pull the mood deeper into this cool, almost dreamlike direction; the beat remains stoic, the voice hangs over it like breath on cold glass.

With “Durch den Nebel” and “Nebelmond,” Isla Ola captures the essence of her own universe. Next, “Rob Me of Desire” introduces a bit more English-language detachment, before “Versinken” reopens that beautiful, dark pull. “Zerteil mein Herz!” doesn’t sound like reconciliation even by its title, and live, the song takes on a rougher edge. Finally, “Wo bist Du hin?” stands like a question in the fog.

Concrete, Fog, Bodies

Then She Past Away. No long build-up. No unnecessary foreplay. “İçimdeki Düşman” kicks off the evening with that signature blend of cold guitar, dry beat, and vocals that sound as if they’re coming from a windowless room. After that, “Durdu Dünya” pulls the market hall deeper in; the title feels almost programmatic, as if the world outside were actually pausing for a moment. With “Katarsis” and “Mizantrop,” the atmosphere thickens. Later, “Asimilasyon” follows, and the sound gains more edge. “Ritüel” then sets one of the early highlights of the evening. People aren’t dancing out of joy. They’re dancing because their bodies can find no other response.

With “Sessiz Orman,” a different shadow briefly emerges. Less aggression, more lost vastness. Then comes “Kasvetli Kutlama,” and the title itself embodies this contradictory beauty: a somber celebration, a dark ceremony, a festival without light. In Hamburg, this works relentlessly well. “İnziva” then draws the evening into isolation. The song feels like a retreat inward, without letting go of the dance floor. Next comes “Ruh,” one of those moments where She Past Away particularly clearly demonstrate their strength: few resources, great impact. With “Kaygan Kayalıklar,” things get edgier again, almost restless. The song pushes the Markthalle across slippery ground, just as the title promises. Afterward, “İnsanlar” concludes the main set with bitter clarity. People. Voices. Shadows. Bodies. For a moment, the room seems like a single dark silhouette.

Encore – the final journey through the fog

Then they come back. “Bozbulanık” opens the encore not like a friendly reunion, but like another descent. The song has this murky, churning quality, as if someone had stirred ashes into water. It has a particularly powerful effect live because She Past Away doesn’t rely on a big explosion here. They let the pressure do the work. Slowly. Dryly. Mercilessly. “İzole” tightens the isolation even further. A song like a pane of glass between people and the world. In the market hall, this doesn’t become a quiet moment, but a dark movement: many people, the same beat, each on their own and yet together. With “Sanrı,” the encore tips into feverishness. The song has something hallucinatory, flickering about it. The guitar screeches, the synths pull, the rhythm holds everything together like an iron wire. Here, She Past Away show their perhaps most dangerous side: not loud in the classic sense, but compelling.

And then “Hayaller?” A finale with a question mark. You couldn’t ask for a more fitting way to end an evening like this. The song feels like one last glimpse into a dream that has long since ceased to be beautiful. No warm farewell, no conciliatory glow. She Past Away leave Hamburg in the dark—but with a beat under the skin. That’s exactly where this music belongs.

Conclusion – Darkness in Motion

She Past Away didn’t play a retro set in Hamburg. They showed why their sound works worldwide: because it doesn’t sound like a copy. Their roots are clearly in post-punk and dark wave, but the result is firmly rooted in the present. Minimalist, cold, danceable, uncompromising. Isla Ola opened the evening with German foggy chill and melancholic cold wave; She Past Away later turned it into a black machine of movement. Between “İçimdeki Düşman,” “Ritüel,” “Kasvetli Kutlama,” “Ruh,” “İzole,” and the final “Hayaller?,” a night emerged that didn’t seek to comfort. It sought to pull. Downward. Inward. To the dance floor. And Hamburg went along with it.

Text & Photos: Thomas Friedel Fuhrman

She Past Away Setlist:
“The Enemy Within” • “The World Has Stopped” • “Catharsis” • “Misanthrope” • “Assimilation” • “Ritual” • “Silent Forest” • “Gloomy Celebration” • “İnziva” • “Ruh” • “Kaygan Kayalıklar” • “İnsanlar” ••• “Bozbulanık” • “İzole” • “Sanrı” • “Hayaller?”