Students walked into the German Club this past Wednesday and were delivered a phenomenal performance with powerful music when student musician Ace Turk held his first headliner. Once he told the DJ to hit it, the audience sat back, listened and cheered for the next hour.
The first song performed was “shapeshifter,” which is the second song on Ace Turk’s EP “flame feelings.” The quick pace of synthetic piano matched the musician’s high energy, evident in his jumping around on the stage. His vocals were phenomenal, dragging out the last word in the line, “I love the way you’re ruining your life.”
Next up was “everyone’s waiting,” a single he released in 2022 alongside “true colors,” which he performed later in the night. The slow succession of beats paired with emotional lines like “everyone’s waiting to feel something for the first time,” had hearts pumping at the rawness of a song like this.
However, it was not the most emotional, as Ace Turk took a break between songs to introduce “flame feelings,” a song he said was the most personal and his favorite. The slow beginning of the song and low-toned vocals when performing proved why it was such a favorite. The strong impact also hit the audience when Ace Turk threw out lines like “will I find my path or burn my way through life?” Even the extra annunciation of the word “feelings” when singing the title in the song showed the audience the effort put into perfecting this creation. The audience’s love was shown by them waving their hands to replicate Ace Turk and the DJ’s actions.
Up next was “true colors,” which is “the most cathartic song” Ace Turk said he created. He then asked the audience to turn on the flashlights on their phones and put them up. The slow pace of the piano evolved to incorporate synthetic beats, which paired nicely with Ace Turk’s slow movements around the stage. At one point, he was on his knees while singing, further proving that he knows how to move an audience.
The next song was another single from last year, called “melt into the floor.” When he wasn’t singing, Ace Turk walked and danced around the stage in fluid movements, matching the calm yet quick pace of the song.
Ace Turk then performed a cover of “Aqua Regia” by Sleep Token, which had elements of synthetic pop and alternative music blended with the slow but high-pitched beats. The audience began to wave with Ace Turk as he got onto his knees again to sing.
The next song was “witness marks,” which Ace Turk said is about people who watch our every move to try to prove we are a bad person. He assured the audience that, in that current moment, they are a better person than they were at their worst moment. A ticking sound mixed with the beat started the song along with Ace Turk nodding to it before diving into the vocals.
Ace Turk then performed “permafrost,” which has a quick beat that paired nicely with lines like “I’ll crawl through the permafrost ‘till I get to you.” It showed the perfect duality of an upbeat melody placed next to hard-hitting lines. That upbeat energy was carried into Ace Turk’s jumpy dance during the vocal break of the song.
Before going into the next song, “sighthound,” Ace Turk thanked everyone for coming, saying that he expected a lesser number in the audience. The ultra slow beat at the beginning set a haunting tone before it picked up yet kept that tone with the dragged-out vocals.
The final song of the night was “distillery,” an edgy song with a quick pace and outstanding lines like “I’m attracted to the dark just like the moths are to the light.”
The concert ended with a satisfied audience and a proud solo artist walking out of the German Club. If you want to listen to Ace Turk’s music, check out his Spotify and immerse yourself.