bárbara lago
“I try to play with the aggressiveness of hard techno and the groove of hard bounce to maintain tension, but also give breaths that make the next impact even stronger. It’s a back-and-forth: ta- king the crowd to the edge, letting them go, and catching them again. What I want is for people to leave the dance floor feeling like they’ve lived through something intense and liberating. That they leave with the sensation of having burned off everything they were carr- ying inside.”
Every stage she steps onto, Bárbara calls it a battlefield. It isn’t bravado, it’s how she frames the challenge of reading a room, setting the tone, and facing down the unknown energy of a crowd. The fight isn’t about aggres- sion, it’s about trust and vulnerability.
“When I say every stage is a battlefield, I mean that every club, every festival, and every lineup presents a different challenge. It’s not the same to face a crowd that’s already on fire at 5 a.m. as it is to open a night with the responsibility of setting the tone, or to play a closing. I always try to follow a coherent line with each party: to understand the energy of the place, the sound of the artists playing before and after, and the pulse of the people in front of me. For me, there’s no universal strategy, each dancefloor demands something diffe- rent.”
That
even more through her back-to-back sets. This year, she’s shared booths with Skryption, Daniella Da Silva, Malke, Cloudy, and Human Error. Each encounter, she says, wasn’t just a set, but a duel and a dialogue that forced her to reimagine her own approach.
“For me, this year’s B2Bs were much more than performances. It’s something I really enjoy because each one poses a different challenge. It’s not just about playing, but about opening up a dialo- gue between two people. What I enjoy most about these sets is the chance to adapt to other styles. It forces me out of my comfort zone, to plan many different scenarios, and to discover new music. Each B2B is like a game of chess. The bond you create with the other person is also something really beautiful. I think it’s a connection that’s hard to explain.”
EMERGENCY CONTROL
Her debut EP, Emergency Control, was where all of these battles and lessons coalesced. It wasn’t just a release, it was a declaration. For Bárbara, produ- cing meant no longer being shielded by the booth, it meant exposing her sound in a way that was permanent and vul- nerable.
adaptability has sharpened
“Emergency Control was a turning point because it forced me to face my insecurities in a very direct way. I had spent years building my identity as a DJ, but producing is another field: you can’t hide behind the booth, your sound is exposed, recorded forever. My biggest insecurity was exactly that, asking myself if what I had inside was strong enough to let out and put my name on. During the process I had to learn to trust myself but also to take advice from my friends, to not compare myself with other producers, and to accept that my first work didn’t need to be perfect, it needed to be honest. And that honesty was the key. Looking back, Emergency Control revealed a lot about my artistic identity: I always look for rawness and energy, and I move in that middle ground between dark and danceable.”
Compilations have also become an outlet for Bárbara to test the edges of her sound. Appearing on Reckless, In- nergate, and DSR, she treats each VA as both a contribution to a collective story and an opportunity to slip in her own coded message.
“Being part of a VA always has that double edge: on one hand you’re part of a collective project, with a shared spirit that defines the label’s identity; on the other, you have the chance to leave your personal mark in a different context. I like to adapt to the narrati- ve of each label, because I think every compilation has an intention, but at the same time, I want my contribution to have something recognizable that says: this is also me. Also, for me, VAs are a way to release singles that stray a bit from my more personal style. They let me experiment, try other approaches, other ideas that might not fit in a full EP, but that find their place in a compi- lation. It’s like launching little capsules.”
Her journey from residencies to major festivals has been extremely rapid, but she doesn’t pinpoint the obvious milestones as the true breakthroughs. Instead, she credits a night in Grana- da as the moment where her identity clicked onstage in a way it never had before.
“Every stage has taught me something different, but the first one where I felt I wasn’t just performing, but truly arri- ving as myself, was at Domo Granada. It wasn’t the biggest or most high-profile festival, but it had something special: the connection, the timing, and the fe- eling that my sound was exactly in the right place at the right time. That was when I stopped worrying about whether I had to fit in or how people perceived me, and I just let myself go. That night I felt a certainty I hadn’t felt before: that I could stay true to my identity and that
authenticity was strong enough to hold a stage. Since then, festivals like Mone- gros, Verknipt, or Ultra have been layers added to that journey, but Domo was the first time I thought: this isn’t just a performance, this is me arriving as Bár- bara Lago.”
When asked about the future, Bár- bara resists the temptation to map out a five-year plan. Her energy is focused on the present, but she also feels a responsibility to hold the door open for those coming behind her.
“I don’t usually project myself five years ahead (and I don’t usually get it right, haha). Music and life change too quickly, and I think the most honest thing is to go with what my body asks of me at each moment. What I am sure of is that I want to use the place I’m in now to support the new genera- tions. They’re coming with an energy and freshness that are essential for the scene to keep evolving, and I think it’s our
space, share with them, and open doors for them.”
And when everything else is stripped away, she keeps her essence simple. Gratitude is her anchor, intensity her weapon, freedom her compass, and connection her reward.
“When you strip all that away, my essence is simple: I’m a girl who enjoys doing what she loves most and who fe- els deeply fortunate to be able to bring her music to different countries and meet people through it. That gratitude is what keeps me motivated and what I try to transmit every time I step into a booth. If I had to define my career and my bond with people in three words, they would be: intensity, freedom, and connection.”
From the discipline of purist techno to the rage of hard techno and now the playful chaos of hard bounce, every shift has mirrored her own growth. She carries the fire of rebellion, the patien- ce of discipline, and the freedom of someone who has nothing to prove but everything to share.
Her message is clear: intensity without connection is hollow, freedom without responsibility is fleeting. Bárbara is stepping into her role not only as an artist but as a guide for the next ge- neration, turning her booth into both a battlefield and a sanctuary.
In her own words, it all comes down to three things: intensity, freedom, and connection. That’s the DNA of her sound, her career, and the imprint she’s leaving on rave culture.
0145 responsibility to give them
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