The Mix 022: Loris

You dropped a synth-laden EP called ‘Acid Bloom’ at the top of the summer. How did that come together?

Another one of my major influences is my friend and producer 1OO1O. I went to Guadalajara to play for a party and visited him in his studio. He had all these synths from the beginning of acid music, 909s, 303s, and 808s. I had to get my hands on them! I started playing and recording, and he was so surprised. He said he’d never seen someone use them like that. Typically, you put like three notes in those machines, but I was making melodies the same way I always do.

After that, I started cutting and changing things, adding percussions and putting my signature on the music, which also led to our collaboration on the last track, ‘Acid Trance’.

What’s been your biggest obstacle along the way?

To maintain a disciplined approach to music production and pursue a full-time music career. “Making it” is already hard, but being born in Latin America has other obstacles. My career would look very different if I was born in the USA or Europe! It has been very, very difficult being Latina – getting a visa is sometimes impossible. You have to have a lot of money and an extensive CV showing that you have played multiple festivals – and you can only play those festivals if you have a visa!

How do both sides of your heritage influence your sound?

Being born in Mexico has nurtured a deep connection to Latin music. Mexico is a constant exposure to rhythms, whether they’re coming from parties, the sound of the streets, or the cadence of how people talk. All of this has influenced my approach to DJing; I cherish this background. Mexico possesses its own unique rhythm. It’s very chaotic but beautiful. It’s also tranquil by nature but captivating. This cultural immersion has opened my eyes to a big spectrum of ways of expressing different rhythms with a different song or set.

My Palestinian heritage shaped my understanding of Arabic scales. Arabic scales are among the most difficult in music, they are very complex. When my dad played those songs at home, it was an auditory education. This has allowed me to experiment with diverse rhythms and percussion, which is a characteristic of my music.

Mexican and Arabic music are very similar. The way they both use strings is very, very emotional. Lyrically, even if you don’t understand them, they are very, very deep.

Read this next: Culture as resistance: 6 Palestinian DJs you need to know

This year, you have commanded dancefloors amid heartbreaking emotion to prove that your roots will never be erased or music silenced as possibly the only female Palestinian DJ/producer in Latin America.

This past year was really, really hard for me. At first, I was very frustrated that I couldn’t do more. A lot of days, I woke up crying. As an artist, of course, you have to be political. This is about human rights, and it would be amazing if every artist supported that. You shouldn’t risk not getting booked because you have an opinion.

Did you experience that or know people who did?

Yeah, of course. I was invited and then disinvited to some streaming events. Some fellow artists who were playing asked, “Why isn’t Loris here?”. There were rumours that the organisers were asking about the visual content of all the DJs, and they didn’t want anything that could be seen as an antisemitic symbol.

Of course, they didn’t say that, but this rumour destroyed me. At first I couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong? I’m a big part of the scene here. I don’t look Latin enough? I questioned myself a lot. Then I noticed that it was because of that.

How are you feeling now?

At points I’ve been scared, I really want people to listen to my music. I’m political but I’m not screaming to everyone. I’ve worried about everything. What if my culture is going to disappear? How is the world going to treat us in the future? What will happen to my own life and my project?

I’ve also been under a lot of pressure because I’m the only Palestinian DJ and producer in Latin America that I’m aware of. So every time they want to do fundraising events, they want me to be there, and it’s hard to work out who is legitimately going to help and who isn’t performative as well.

Some people have pressured: “You should play these events because you’re Palestinian.” But I’m doing it my way. I always pour all my emotions and heritage into my music, and when I play, I’m letting everyone know that we are still here! They cannot silence our sound. That’s my fight.

I’m praying for peace, and that this will end. It’s tough to continue, but Im not going to quit, ever.

Read this next: A list of ways you can aid the humanitarian crisis in Palestine

What do you consider to be your proudest accomplishment so far in your journey?

The ability to understand the crowd. I notice that a lot of the DJs aren’t doing that. They are so deep into the sets that they don’t see the crowd. I think I’ve worked on that since high school, playing music from my iPod. I remember when I was at these small parties and watching how the crowd reacted if I played a weird song that they didn’t like and working out fast what song I was going to play next.

People always come up after my sets and say, “Wow, I felt that”, “I was crying”, “I danced my ass off”, or “This song reminded me of my grandmother”. That’s super special and one of the most important skills you need to be a DJ. If you put me in a festival, a small club, or a wedding, I know I will play a good set.

What led to your choice of tracks for The Mix?

I’ve included an unreleased track from an EP I’m about to release, heavily inspired by dance music and electronica. For a while now, I’ve felt nostalgia for the late ’90s and early ’00s, a very interesting time in music when these rhythms just made you want to dance and have a good time. It hit me that those years were when my first approach to electronic music took place, and aesthetically, it’s a style I identify with a lot, and I haven’t entirely left behind.

What do you want people to feel when they listen to it?

When you listen to this mix, I want you to feel happy. It’s such a chaotic time in the world that listening to something different and diverse can help you take a break, experience other emotions, and enjoy the present moment.

What does the future hold?

I’m super excited about my Europe and UK tour in August. I’m releasing a new EP for that. I’m working on my first album, which will be a self-release in 2025. I want it to tell a story and be a big sound experience.

I throw a series of parties called Zoco that combine the sounds of the diaspora from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. On October 4, I’m curating the line-up and collaborating with Sama’ Abdulhadi, the “queen of Palestinian techno.”

Last of all, I just want to show people some good and diverse music, and hopefully this works and I can it forever.

‘Acid Bloom’ is out now, get it here

Tracy Kawalik is a freelance music journalist, follow her on Twitter