EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
In the concrete womb of Berlin’s nocturnal chaos, where fog machines blur
reality and sound
systems become confessional booths, few voices echo with as much raw emotional gravity as GI.O’s. A newcomer by Berlin standards, but a seasoned soul shaped by the rhythmic pulse of Brazil, GI.O is not merely navigating the underground, she’s reconstructing it from within.
Born out of a culture where music bleeds into the streets and bodies instinctively move to ancestral syncopations, GI.O’s journey from Brazil to Berlin reads like a manifesto of resistance and rebirth.
What defines her is not only the ability to blend Latin euphoria with trance’s celestial drive, but the sheer force of presence she brings as a Latin woman in the male-dominated machinery of European electronic music. Her sets shimmer with joy, yet simmer with subversion, a duality that refuses to be tamed. I met her in a dimly lit corner of Kreuzberg, the conversation spilling over with sincerity, vulnerability, and rhythmic insight. In every word she uttered, there was cadence. In every anecdote, a bassline. This is not just the story of a DJ finding her sound. This is the story of GI.O, a cultural bridge, a sonic insurgent, and a woman dancing through resistance.
The transition from Brazil to Berlin is not just geographical for GI.O, it’s alchemical. What begins as a relocation transforms into a redefinition of self and sound. Her voice holds both nostalgia and defiance as she reflects on that shift.
“I always had a connection with music; in Brazil, we say that ‘music is in our blood’ because it represents so much of our culture, and I had it in me since I can remember. As I started DJing in Brazil, my relationship with music got even deeper, and when I moved to Europe (NL), I found out that I could reach new levels with my career, finally deciding on moving to Berlin and focusing 100% on it. The cultural contrast between the two cultures is constantly shaping me in every way, musically, personally, in my relations, and in my day-to-day life. It’s two opposite cultures with one common thing: the love for music.”
Berlin, with its industrial edge and defiant night- life, challenged GI.O to evolve. She faced both an open field and a high wall, where access meets gatekeeping.
“Berlin’s musical scene is something completely different from what I ever experienced before, from the clubber
perspective (music style,
clubbing culture, safe spaces, easy access to your favorite artists) to the artist perspective (how the scene works, how important music production is, DJ skills, agencies). I’ve realized how challenging it is to become an artist in Berlin. At the same time that it’s ‘easy’ to learn how to DJ and everyone can be a DJ, it’s very hard to become an ‘artist’. It was difficult to absorb everything, but it also gave me the motivation to improve myself and work hard to become a real artist.”
Yet her Brazilian identity remains the compass through this evolution.
“The Brazilian culture will never leave me; it’s in my inner self. I carry it as an artist, in my music, in my person. I’ll always be a ‘warm’ person with a lot of emotions and carry the Brazilian excitement and energy in my sets.”
This warmth is palpable in her productions, an electrifying hybrid of trance, samba, and baile funk. Her sound doesn’t ask for permission. It enters the room and owns it.
“When I moved to Europe, it opened up my mind music-wise. I discovered so many new rhythms and styles that I had never heard in Brazil’s techno scene, which led me to a different direction in my music. I started producing not so long ago, just before moving to Berlin, still in the process of shaping my sound identity. But from the beginning, I had support from amazing artists like Ki/Ki, Trym, Bad Boombox, David Löhlein, Otta, and many more, which was super important and motivated me to keep exploring new sounds.”
“On my first released tracks, they were still 100% trance, but over time, I wanted to blend my Bra- zilian roots and give more rhythm to it, like I did on ‘Samba Comigo’ released on Hot Meals Re- cords. Since then, I’ve been trying different things, shaping my music and bringing more percussion blended with happy trance energy, like in my latest track ‘Se Solta’ on Hotties. Someone in Colombia called it ‘eletrosamba’, and I love that.”
Cultural fusion is not trend-chasing for GI.O, it’s survival.
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