Sosyete ’25

Sosyete ’25, formed by Istanbul-born artist Merve Erdem, Suffolk-based producer and composer Paul Elliott, and Brighton-based writer and arranger Glenn Fallows, are a trio shaped by shared curiosity, humour and a love of storytelling that moves fluidly between languages, images and lived experience.

Merve Erdem, also known for her work as one half of Kit Sebastian (Brainfeeder), brings a practice rooted in Turkish poetic traditions and a lifelong engagement with cinema, literature and visual narrative. Having lived between Istanbul, Italy, the United States and the UK, she brings a perspective shaped by multilingualism and cultural exchange, moving between references and traditions. She approaches songwriting as image-making and world-building, bringing a playful sense of character, atmosphere and storytelling into her compositions.

Raised around a family of musicians, Paul Elliott began DJing in his early teens and has since developed a reputation as a wide-ranging collaborator and facilitator. His projects have intersected with artists including Asha Puthli, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Project Gemini and Shawn Lee, reflecting a practice built on exchange, groove-led thinking and an instinct for bringing people into the same room. His earlier Call Sender work, alongside Michael Reed, established a blueprint that continues to inform his approach today.

Glenn Fallows (Globeflower Masters/Mr Bongo) completes the trio with a compositional approach that emphasises structure, pacing and atmosphere. Known for his writing, playing and production work across multiple ensemble projects, he brings a melodic sensibility and an editor’s ear, shaping ideas into cohesive forms while leaving space for spontaneity. His role within Sosyete ’25 is both architectural and responsive, helping translate loose sketches into fully realised pieces.

As a collective, Sosyete ’25 functions less like a traditional group and more like an ongoing dialogue. Their process is built on improvisation and shared authorship, with phrases, motifs and gestures evolving through collaboration. Themes of love, liberation, desire and absurdity recur throughout their work, treated not as fixed subjects but as open questions. The result is a body of work that feels playful yet deliberate, rooted in friendship and shaped by three distinct perspectives coming together.