Holy Fuck

In an era where artificial intelligence can now “generate” an entire classic rock band, Holy Fuck feels more relevant than ever. For years, the Canadian experimental synth-punk quartet has persistently defended the idea of music being performed by human hands and human energy. On October 12, they will take the stage in Istanbul for the very first time, at Blind, with the support of %100 Müzik. What truly sets Holy Fuck apart from their peers is their insistence on creating music not through laptops or pre-programmed loops, but entirely live — using drums, bass guitar, synths, and effects. Every sound on stage is played in the moment, constantly shifting direction and taking new shape. With no click track, the band places improvisational chaos at the core: four musicians taking risks simultaneously, embracing the irreversibility of the moment. Consisting of Brian Borcherdt, Graham Walsh, Matt “Punchy” McQuaid, and Matt Schulz, Holy Fuck entered a long period of silence following their 2020 release Deleter. Years later, the members reunited, and the process quietly took root in a rural village hall in Nova Scotia, Canada. What began simply as an excuse to play together again soon turned into a spontaneous flow of new ideas. That reunion became the starting point for the band’s upcoming album, Event Beat. Event Beat is the product of Holy Fuck’s collective instincts, intuition, and the almost telepathic communication they’ve developed over years of playing together. The album spans a wide spectrum — from punk-funk grooves and krautrock marches to pastoral ambient passages and euphoric, dancefloor-driven moments. Yet the unifying thread throughout is the same: music performed live, shaped by the energy of the moment. The band’s return to the spotlight also happened in an entirely unpredictable way. The use of “Tom Tom” in the Amazon Prime series Invincible and “Lost Cool” in the Oscar-winning film The Substance once again highlighted Holy Fuck’s timelessness. That tracks recorded years ago are resonating anew today is a direct result of the band’s refusal to chase trends, choosing instead to follow intuition. What will happen at Blind on October 12 will not be a “nostalgia concert.” For Holy Fuck, the stage is an extension of the studio — a space where drums, bass, and synths sweat, and where every moment carries risk. Songs may stretch, mutate, or even fall apart. And precisely for that reason, every performance is unique. Taking the stage in Istanbul for the first time, Holy Fuck is here to remind us that music can still be created by human hands, with instruments, together. Music only truly matters when it is played together and experienced together. Holy Fuck does exactly that.