A Sit Down With DJ Alok

Born to legendary psytrance DJ parents, Alok got his start in the industry at the tender age of 10 and two years later, was considered a professional among the elders. For his latest singles, “Me and You” and the Narcos-inspired “Fuego,” Alok manages to mix and match high tempos with alternative sounds.

 

“I always try to do something real. I never sold myself to something I thought people could accept better. I just did something I really believed in, nothing really commercial.”

 

You just released the 5-track EP ‘Alok Presents Brazilian Bass’, featuring various artists. How did you create this?

The idea and concept of the EP came about after I realized how much potential was happening around me with the guys who I have proudly been working with. The results couldn’t be better and the EP is just mind blowing. Sander Van Doorn is a living legend within the electronic music scene. It’s an honor to have him on board the EP and a bigger honor to have him joining us inside the Brazilian Bass movement.

Are there any American acts that you would like to work with?

I love Eric Prydz, Justin Beiber and Marshmellow as well. It’s crazy because I was following him when he had one thousand followers, and after eight months, he had 2 million!

Do you plan on changing at all for your American audience?

Yea I mean I don’t know what I’m going to play tonight to be honest. I still haven’t even thought about it. But definitely it has to be different from Brazil, I think here, a lot of music that works well in Brazil wouldn’t work here. Over here people are more in to what’s happening at the moment, Brazil you can play old stuff and they like it.

When did you first realise you wanted to make music?

I first came to this realization when I was still 12 years old. The music was already able to drive me deep into places and thoughts. Music has always been really profound for me.

What was the production process for the Spinnin’ track “Hear Me Now,” how did that work?

I did it with two friends of mine Bruno Martini and Zeeba. We had a really nice energy in the studio and things went out quickly. Nowadays I’ve been making music on my laptop for about six months, I’ve always been on the road and I moved to a new place in Sao Paolo and I’m building up a new studio in my house.

How would you describe your sound?

My sound has been changing over the last year or so. If you listen to my tracks now and listen to the tracks one year or more back you will be able to realize that not only my music has changed but also has emerged into something more meaningful and expressive. That’s because the vocals and words have become crucial in my productions.

Which track would be your favourite from your work and what inspired you to produce that track?

There are a few favorites but I can only tell that some of them haven’t even been heard yet LOL I would say that never let me go , an upcoming track with IRO on the vocals called love is a temple and another unreleased track with Zeeba and Iro called Ocean that has a really profound and serious meaning to me.

What aspects of your culture affect the music?

I think the groove. Brazilian people love “the fat.” You can see that in the Brazilian music as well—the popular Brazilian music. Yeah, I think it’s the groove.

How was the collaboration with Bruno Martini and Zeeba?

Let me start by saying that It is always special to work with both Bruno Martini and Zeeba. We seem to have a great chemistry in the studio and the results always end up talking for themselves. We basically worked in a similar methodology again and the production came up quite well and satisfactory for all of us.

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