“Exactly two years ago we performed in Berghain Kantine in front of 200 people. Now we’re here at Columbiahalle playing to a few thousand. It’s incredible what’s happened in the last few months. Standing on this stage feels surreal” – Apsilon tells the crowd during his sold-out tour finale in Berlin, calling his Germany tour “one of the best times of my life.”
On Haut wie Pelz, his debut album released the past fall, the rapper explores what it means to grow up in Berlin-Moabit. At thirteen or fourteen, Arda, Apsilon’s real name, began putting his feelings of dissatisfaction, alienation, anger and vulnerability along with dreams and hopes into poems and short texts. Every word was written close to the heart and at some point art emerged from the reality of his life.
His lyrics also delve into the history of his grandparents who came to Germany from Turkey in the 1970s. Through his music he gives them a voice while speaking about the feeling of being foreign and advocating for more inclusivity. Haut wie Pelz is a lyrically captivating album - melancholic yet hopeful. With his debut, Apsilon proves that anger can also be sensitive. His younger brother Arman produces his music, directs his videos, and appears on stage with him whether behind the decks or playing the saxophone. In almost every interview the rapper affectionately drops the line: “There would be no Apsilon without Arman.” Even during our photo shoot, Arda and Arman pose for some pictures together.
We met Apsilon on tour before his show in Leipzig and photographed him in the still-empty concert hall after soundcheck, then later backstage during the show.
A conversation about how good art must always embrace the risk of failure, camaraderie in the music business, the creative partnership with his brother, and the long artistic journey that led to his very first song.
You’ve been on tour across Germany with your album Haut wie Pelz. How do you feel when you look back on that time?
Apsilon: The tour had school trip vibes, I didn’t even want it to end. Closing it out by playing in a sold-out Columbiahalle in Berlin was a real “we made it” moment. That’s the venue I used to go to for concerts myself, so it was truly a full-circle experience.
What was it like performing your track Baba in front of your dad? Your entire family, including him, was in the audience for that concert.
Performing that song I couldn’t stop smiling inside because I knew it would hit him emotionally. After my show, I saw a video someone had taken of him during the performance and he shed a tear. The whole tour — standing on stage, singing, playing instruments, having fun, and doing all of that in front of my family—was a life goal come true.
You share a very special bond with your brother, who is also your artistic partner.
We’re both incredibly grateful that we don’t have to navigate our place in the world alone. Even very successful artists often lead isolated lives, which, to me, feels kind of sad. You might be surrounded by people, but artistically, you’re often on your own. For us, every decision is shared so it sometimes even feels like we have one big brain. Knowing Arman is by my side means I never feel like I’m entirely on my own. That’s incredibly valuable to me.
Has your sibling dynamic changed now that you’re working so closely together?
Our relationship has deepened even further through our projects. He’s my closest and most trusted collaborator. Making music with someone has always felt magical to me. Once you’ve worked together in the studio, you develop a connection that might have taken years to build otherwise. It’s such an intense process, opening yourself up artistically to someone else, and it creates a bond on a very special level. Over the past few years, Arman and I have built this additional layer to our sibling relationship – a shared vision that gives us purpose, fulfillment, and happiness.
Your music isn’t just about sound, it’s also a lot about visual storytelling.
My brother and I have always thought of music in a multimedia context and we’ve realized that it’s one of our strengths. We want to create a visual identity so that the songs feel like something immersive and atmospheric. That’s why we put so much effort, time and money into conceptualizing videos for our tracks.
There’s always that perfectionist voice in your head saying, “It’s not good enough yet.” You can’t let that voice win for too long.
How exactly did you first get into music?
As a teenager, I didn’t have a musical environment and spent most of my time playing basketball. Around thirteen or fourteen, I started writing lyrics in my childhood bedroom and rapping over beats I found online. It took years for me to build up the courage to share it with anyone. For a long time I didn’t think I was good enough and was scared that someone might laugh at me. Back then it would have fucked with me and crushed my soul.
After you first started sharing your music in your twenties, how did you go from that to releasing your first track?
The Covid era was devastating on a societal level, but it gave me unexpected free time to experiment. I realized I had been working on music for what felt like forever, but I still didn’t have a single song. All I had were snippets of lyrics and beats saved on my phone. So, I gave myself an ultimatum: get serious about making music and shape those fragments into three full songs. With the limited resources I had we shot low-budget videos for each track. That was a turning point because I stopped sketching ideas and started thinking in complete songs. Afterward, I reached out to people on Instagram asking if I could record in their studios. Once I had my finished tracks I contacted various labels. You have to take the initiative because nobody is waiting for you.
You’re at an early, but very promising stage in your music career where a lot seems possible. What have you learned so far?
We often limit ourselves with self-doubt. There’s always that perfectionist voice in your head saying, “It’s not good enough yet.” You can’t let that voice win for too long. The worst thing is when someone shares their art, but immediately adds “It’s not quite finished yet.” To me, that’s an excuse! Stand by your work—whether people connect with it or not, you have to be able to handle that. I only gained the confidence to do that because I worked so passionately on my tracks that I became truly proud of them. These songs are my first gems.
Taking that first step is always the hardest. What was going through your mind when you decided to upload your first music publicly?
After working on my first tracks for so long I wasn’t afraid that they weren’t good enough anymore, but I wasn’t sure if they would find an audience. Would people connect with what I had to say? Could my songs be meaningful to strangers? It gave me so much power and drive when my tracks started getting feedback. It really boosted my artistic confidence.
Was there a moment when you thought: “This music career could really work – this could be my path?”
I immediately think of when strangers started commenting on my YouTube videos. Or my first shows, where maybe a hundred people showed up, but suddenly they were all singing my songs along with me. That’s an indescribable feeling.
Your album is also an homage to Berlin, especially the microcosm of Moabit where you grew up. What places in the city have influenced you culturally?
Basketball definitely shaped me socially. Some of the guys I used to play with are now part of my creative team. I guess it makes sense because hip-hop and basketball have always been closely related.
Berlin is a city of contrasts and connection. At a party, you might find yourself with someone who earns a fortune and someone who gets by with much less – an artist or a business professional. In those moments, you set those roles aside and just coexist.
Peter Fox’s Schwarz zu blau is the GOAT Berlin track for me. No other song captures that love-hate relationship we all feel for this city. Berlin can be harsh, loud, rough, and very direct, but it has this immense sense of togetherness. We all need to protect that from the profit-driven division the city is going through.S: You often talk about your musical collaborators and alliances. Is making music more of a collective effort for you than an isolated solo act?A: You have to understand that you need a team to create a world around your music and that you’re not the best at everything. If you don’t collaborate, you stagnate.
You’ve accomplished a lot last year, but since growth is always about evolution, do you also feel pressure to figure out what comes next?
These past months have given me so much energy and confidence because of all the support I’ve received. Mostly, it’s been freeing. I feel ready for whatever comes my way and want to embrace every step of the journey. My goal for the new year is to create music that stands independently from this album’s vibe. I would say that I’ve found my sound and direction, so I don’t plan to suddenly change genres—but I definitely don’t want to simply produce Haut wie Pelz II.
