Alok

Alok uses the term “Brazilian Bass” to describe his sunny, feel-good mixture of restrained tech-house and festival-friendly EDM. He is easily the most popular Brazilian DJ in the world, and has continued climbing up DJ Mag’s annual Top 100 DJs poll every year since 2015, reaching number four in 2021. He broke through with his 2016 single “Hear Me Now” (with Bruno Martini and Zeeba), a viral hit that was certified triple platinum in his home country. Since then, he has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Armin van Buuren, Seu Jorge, Jason Derulo, and John Legend. He launched his Controversia imprint in 2019, and released much of his own material through it, including “It Don’t Matter,” a 2021 collaboration with Sofi Tukker and Inna. Subsequent collaborators include Bastille, Kenny Dope, James Arthur, and the Chainsmokers (2023′s “Jungle”). Born Alok Achkar Peres Petrillo, he is the son of DJ Ekanta and DJ Swarup, two of the most well-known psytrance DJs in Brazil. Alok first began producing psytrance with his twin brother, Bhaskar, releasing material under the name Logica. He started issuing solo tracks in 2012, venturing into house rather than trance. Keeping up his productivity, particularly with a series of Brazilian Bass events, Alok was receiving recognition as the country’s best house DJ by 2014. He appeared in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll for the first time in 2015. Alok had an even bigger year in 2016, as his Spinnin' Records-released single “Hear Me Now” (co-produced by Bruno Martini and featuring vocalist Zeeba) was a huge international hit. Its video was a viral success on YouTube, and it charted in over a dozen countries. Several singles and collaborations were released in 2017, including “Never Let Me Go” (the follow-up single to “Hear Me Now”), which again featured Bruno Martini and Zeeba. Another Zeeba-assisted track, “Ocean,” appeared in 2018, as did collaborations with Gavin James (“Innocent”) and Zelva (“I Miss U”), among other singles. Alok founded Controversia, a sublabel of Spinnin' Records, in 2019. Later in the year, he became a character in the battle royale game Free Fire and was later acknowledged as the game’s most popular character. He continued his productive run of singles and collaborations, working with Felix Jaehn and the Vamps (“All the Lies”), Seu Jorge and Bid (“E Depois [Que Sorte a Minha]“), Dynoro (“On & On”), and many others. 2020 brought songs with Martin Jensen and Jason Derulo (“Don’t Cry for Me”), Ilkay Sencan and Tove Lo (“Don’t Say Goodbye”), and Faulhaber (“Party on My Own”), among others. 2021′s “Love Again” (with Viza and Alida) charted in Austria and Germany, and “It Don’t Matter” (with Sofi Tukker and Inna) made the Top 30 of Billboard’s Dance chart. Other 2021 releases included “In My Mind” (with John Legend) and “Reunion” (with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Kshmr featuring Zafrir). The EP Deeper appeared in early 2022, and singles like “Run Into Trouble” (with Bastille), “Deep Down” (with Ella Eyre and Kenny Dope featuring Never Dull), and “All by Myself” (with Sigala and Ellie Goulding) followed. Alok and James Arthur released “Work with My Love” in 2023. The Brazilian DJ released several other collaborations during the year, including tracks with Solardo (“Over Again”), Steve Aoki (“2 Much 2 Handle”), Ava Max (“Car Keys [Ayla]“), and the Chainsmokers & Mae Stephens (“Jungle”). ~ Paul Simpson