Alok
Position:
44
Questions Top100 DJs 2015 - Jon Dommett - 11/16/2015 - 10:36
Submitted by Jon Dommett on Mon, 11/16/2015 - 10:36
Style:
“Techno/electro/deep.”
Best known for:
“Brazilian mid-range bass techno (new design).”
Tune of the year:
“Alok & Dazzo 'Winter Play feat. Ellie Ka'.”
Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2015:
“Jeremy Olander.”
What’s the most important skill a DJ should have?:
“To be able to read the dancefloor and be in sync with the crowd’s flow.”
Is the future still bright for EDM?:
“Electronic music is full of surprises these days... it’s a very unpredictable area and the market is fed up with repetitive and tiring formulas.”
Does the constant travelling and DJ lifestyle ever take its toll on you mentally?:
“Long flights, delays, being everywhere but never being able to be home makes me really tired and sometimes physically and mentally drained. However, all the effort becomes worth it when you’re out there doing what you love.”
What cause is closest to your heart?:
“Giving and caring for the universe is something that not only makes us receive back and learn, but also allows us to achieve knowledge and wisdom.”
Which club would you like to bring back from the dead?:
“There was this club called Fiction, located in Goiania, in my hometown. I played since the first days until its end. It would be great to re-live those moments.”
Why aren’t there more women in the Top 100 DJs poll?:
“There are a lot of great and remarkable female DJs/producers out there. Every year they seem to get better at what they do. It is just a matter of time.”
What do you think of DJs who use ghost producers?:
“I think that it is the same as lying to yourself... and one day or another the truth comes out. We should never outsource our dreams!”
Alok is a poster boy for Brazil's love of deep mid-tempo forms of house and techno — albeit with a pop twist. It's a subcultural penchant often outshone by the garish lights of EDM.
Son of the founders of Universo Paralello, a huge dance festival set within the Brazilian mountains 15 years ago, electronic music exists in Alok's DNA. And in 2015, there's a sense his life-long aspirations are finally getting fulfilled. A main stage set at TomorrowWorld (US) and sets at festivals in Germany, Las Vegas and Portugal reflect a DJ taking things global, while his record label Up Club is helping to cultivate local talent. He has Alok to offer! (Sorry...)