Istanbul Bans Anyma's Concert Over Satanism Accusations

The Istanbul Governorate has blocked a concert by the Italian electronic producer Anyma that had been scheduled for 12 September at Atakoy Marina Arena, after stage visuals from his live show were characterized online as satanic and pagan imagery. The show was part of the newly announced leg of his world tour.

What's confirmed: the concert is off. The Governorate's decision is a matter of public record, reported by local outlets. What isn't independently verified here: the specific claims about what the stage visuals depict. Anyma's live production is built around large-scale digital animation and robotic stage figures, a style he has toured internationally without this reaction. Whether particular frames of that show read as religious symbolism is a matter of interpretation that spread through social media before any official review, and we have not seen the visuals characterized by a neutral third party.

Who is Anyma

Anyma is the solo project of Matteo Milleri, born in New York City and raised in Italy from a young age. He is also half of Tale of Us, the melodic house and techno duo he formed with Carmine Conte in Milan in 2008, and a co-founder of Afterlife, the label and event series built around that sound. Launched in 2021, Anyma pairs the music with large-scale digital art and robotic stage design, and the project became one of the best-selling acts on Beatport in 2023. The clip below is from a separate Afterlife show, not the cancelled Istanbul date.

Part of a pattern, not a one-off

This is not the first Istanbul show pulled over similar accusations this year. In February, the Beşiktaş District Governorate cancelled scheduled performances by the Russian band Slaughter to Prevail and the Polish band Behemoth at Zorlu Performing Arts Center, citing public order and "social values" under Turkey's laws governing public assembly, and imposed a two-day ban on all events at the venue. Slaughter to Prevail's frontman publicly disputed the satanic-propaganda characterization at the time.

Days later, the Irish instrumental group God Is An Astronaut had their Istanbul show at the same venue cancelled hours before doors, after the band had already arrived in the city. The guitarist described the group as "deeply disappointed" after being fully prepared to play.

Three cancellations at two venues inside a year is enough to call a pattern: shows get pulled on accusation and public pressure, sometimes with almost no notice, regardless of whether the artist disputes the characterization.

What this means if you're booking a night out around a touring act

For anyone in Istanbul's nightlife scene, the practical takeaway isn't about Anyma specifically. It's that a booked, on-sale show with a confirmed venue and date is not a guarantee here the way it would be in most markets, if the visual or lyrical content of the act can be framed as provocative. That risk sits with promoters and venues, but it lands on ticket holders first, sometimes with days of notice and sometimes with hours.

If you've bought tickets to a show with stage production that leans heavily into horror, occult, or provocative visual themes, and it's more than a few weeks out, it is worth checking the venue's own channels close to the date rather than assuming the listing is final. We'd rather tell you that plainly than have you find out the way God Is An Astronaut's audience did.

What we don't know yet: whether Anyma's Istanbul date will be rescheduled, moved to another city, or dropped from the tour entirely, and whether ticket holders have been offered refunds. We'll update this if that becomes public.