Matias Aguayo

Chilean-born musician and DJ Matias Aguayo has traversed remarkable terrain over his three decades of creative pursuit. Many things have been key to his artistic interventions over the decades: playfulness and consideration; physicality and sensuality; experimentation, but with a convivial spirit; a respectful flow of energy and thought; transcendence, but with both feet planted in the here and now. You can hear this in his recent work, with artists as diverse as Djs Pareja, Deena Abdelwahed, Lucrecia Dalt, Camille Mandoki, DJ Spoko, Julianna, and Mujaji The Rain, where he’s building communities dedicated to open-minded exchange. From early work with Michael Mayer (Zimt), Dirk Leyers (Closer Musik) and Battles, through a string of acclaimed albums – Are You Really Lost (2005), Ay Ay Ay (2009), The Visitor (2013), Sofarnopolis (2017, with the Desdemonas), and Support Alien Invasion (2019) – Aguayo has walked a tightrope strung between the dancefloor and the research lab. With his voice as his main outlet but fluent and fluid in multiple instruments, Aguayo works dance and pop music into curious, mutable shapes. He’s also a superlative live performer, folding together DJing, live sound, dance, and his constant, welcoming interaction with audiences. Instead of the tired, old hierarchy of performers on stage, Aguayo is at one with his audience and the club as a space for play, potentiality, and community. He’s co-run the Cómeme label since 2009, introducing artists like Rebolledo, Ana Helder, Sano, and Alejandro Paz to broader audiences. More recently, Aguayo has built from his formative experience organizing the arts project Juventud Clandestina (Clandestine Youth) to become involved with social projects for homeless shelters, retirement homes, Pitié Salpetriere Hospital, and prison outreach. The latter has developed into a theater piece, Watch, in close collaboration with the detainees as actors, alongside pianist Shani Diluka and director Olivier Fredj, performed at Le Chatelet, Paris.