Hailing from Mexico and now residing in maximum city Mumbai – Ana Lilia is like a breath of fresh air in the Indian house/techno scene. With a touring calendar busier than DJs far more senior – she is taking the exponentially growing underground scene in India with a storm having played for revered brands such as Elrow & shared stage space with DJs such as Dubfire, Claptone, Deborah de Luca, Sidney Charles, Trikk, Dusty Kid, SHADED, Coyu, Mark Fanciulli, Juliet Sikora to name a few and is showing no signs of slowing down.
She also has played at clubs such as KYO, Kuala Lampur, Sing Sing Theatre, Bangkok, Kitty Su Mumbai, Prism Hyderabad, Kitty Ko, Bangalore, Summer House, New Delhi, to name a few and continues to clock air miles rapidly. Her sound is a perfect blend of bouncy dancefloor-oriented tech house laced with tribal overtones & in-your-face, no-nonsense techno. Coupled that with an alluring stage presence & its a match made in Techno heaven.
We recently had a chat with Ana Lilia to talk about her current musical projects.
Electronic Groove: Hi, Ana, and welcome to Electronic Groove. Tell us a bit about your musical background. When your passion for music did began and how did you got involved with dance music?
Ana Lilia: Hi! Thank you for having me on board. I’ve always loved listening to the radio checking what’s new, singing and dancing. Also, I would sing Karaoke versions to my classmates at school at talent shows (laughter). Mostly MTV and Latin music like Shakira and Kylie Minogue. It was when I heard Deadmau5 for the first time that my love for dance music started.
EG: What are your biggest musical references growing up? Can you name three artists that are part of your core as an artist?
Ana Lilia: I would say, Madonna, Mariah Carey, and recent influences have been Ellen Allien, Derrick May, and Nina Kraviz.
EG: You currently living in Mumbai. What took you there and how does it compare to your home town?
Ana Lilia: I came to Mumbai in 2011 for work and from the first week I felt so connected. I thought this lifestyle was so carefree, less judgmental compared to my hometown and luckily I got an opportunity to extend my stay, so I did! Later on, I began my musical career.
EG: Does your surroundings (weather-culture) play a role in your productions?
Ana Lilia: Definitely. As of culture I always get inspired by different styles of music. I love Detroit techno, for example, been very inspired by it lately. Weather yes. The more cloudy & cozy it gets the more I feel like working. But as in my sounds, I’m more of an indoor girl. I like to play around with modular synths, so it’s just me and my workstation.
EG: During these last months, life has shifted quite a bit. How has it affected you and what positive things have you gained from this experience with the COVID-19 virus?
Ana Lilia: Before Covid-19 I was traveling a lot, I could hardly make time to work on my own tracks so this has been a good time for me to finish some pending ones, work on upcoming projects and get my feet grounded. It’s been positive overall!
“I like to play around with modular synths, so it’s just
me and my workstation”
EG: Now that gigs have come to a temporary halt. How has your experience with Livestream been?
Ana Lilia: It’s always good to learn new things. Livestream is not as easy as it looks but the more I did it the easier it became. But I do miss extrovert people around to pump me up during my sets 🙂
EG: What are your expectations about returning to live events? How do you see social distancing playing a roll and what do you think clubs can do to make events a safe and secure experience?
Ana Lilia: My expectations are like everyone else’s I guess. All artists wish to return to clubs and festivals and continue performing/entertaining our fans as soon as possible. Sadly for the foreseeable future, social distancing will play a role of paramount importance wherein we all have to be careful of our surroundings. Clubbing at its core is the opposite of social distancing so, in the beginning, it may feel weird but that’s the world we live in now.
EG: Any upcoming releases or endeavors that we should be looking forward to this year?
Ana Lilia: Lots of exciting things in the pipeline. I have an upcoming release on Coyu’s label, Suara, which I’m very excited about. I’ve signed another 2-track EP on another huge label and we hope to work soon on my Europe tour which was canceled due to the virus crisis. Now that we have time on our hands we will look at adding more cities and festivals to the tour whenever the pandemic permits.
EG: How would you define your sound?
Ana Lilia: I feel so attracted to the trancey vibe off late but I like dropping a lot of acid too. I play fast, hard techno with a hypnotic feel in between. Sometimes I play house too!
Electronic Groove: What’s your favorite thing of being a DJ/artist?
Ana Lilia: Traveling definitely. Also discovering new music & sounds. Sometimes I close my eyes & I thank God for making such amazing & talented beings because there’s such good stuff out there that makes me so happy.
Follow Ana Lilia: Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud
