Photo: Hedda Delin (ERAM)
A self-described “multi-disciplinary troublemaker” with strong ties to the dance music scene since basically her childhood days, Marianna Viscaíno is a stylistically omnivorous DJ. Her contribution to our Groove podcast is a wild, fact-paced ride across many different genres, rhythms, and tempos. Under her ERAM moniker, Viscaíno has also started to be more active as a producer, releasing on labels such as her own ZONAexp, Gimme A Break, or Tijolo. Having contributed to the scene of her native Brazil as an event organiser for years, she has started touring more internationally in recent years. Her Groove mix features tracks on heavy rotation in her sets right now. It’s a mind-bending journey, really.
You were twelve years old when you visited your first rave in rural Brazil. How did it come about that a pre-teen would ride on her bike to the countryside to attend a party like that, and what was it about the experience that left such a strong mark on you?
I was born in Porto Alegre, the capital of Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, and I was raised in a rural suburb near the riverside, 30 kilometres from the downtown area. The subversive counter-culture has always been a part of my life. I grew up following my atheist and communist dad in movie sets where he used to work as an actor, and it was there that I had my first encounter with “clubber” figures, such as makeup artists and stylists. In the early 2000s, the first rave festivals starting popping up in my city, mainly in this rural area where I used to live. Every weekend I would go to sleep and wake up with that repetitive, hypnotising sound coming from the rave parties. My curiosity grew stronger and stronger as I’d watch those strange groups of hippies and cyberpunks with dyed hair. By the morning, I’d start to ride my bike to the farms where these events used to happen, as I wasn’t allowed to go out at night. The farm owners knew me, so they would let me in and would even serve me food amongst their families, and I would stay there until the evening. As I got older, my dad would drive me to those parties, so my relationship with raving is very intimate, it felt like home I was welcomed and I felt safe there. Eletronic music came into my life spontaneously as a deep emotional connection and I feel I could even write a book about it.
When and how did you pick up DJing after that?
In early 2014 I came back to the rave scene after the birth of my daughter. I became part of ARRUAÇA’s team, a collective that articulated rave parties at famous city sights, as a way to occupy public spaces with art and culture. In 2015 we organised a party with a full female crew, but we were short on female DJs back then, so the other girls stimulated me to play at the party, and from then on, I never stopped.
You’ve said that 2015 was a time in which the scene had become more politicised. How would you describe the situation back then?
Around 2015, Brazil was going through a right-wing extremist wave and those people were able to organise a political coup that took down our legally elected leftist government and opened up space to Jair Bolsonaro’s ideology to grow. Since the Brazilian [men’s football] World Cup in 2014 that was followed by a movement of protests across the country, Brazil created a anti-terrorism law that pretty much covered all political and social expressions in public spaces, which affected the street parties we were promoting. The police would watch our social media accounts and we could easily fall into the new anti-terrorism laws, because although we were trying to occupy public spaces by hosting parties, there was a deeper critical and political meaning behind it. It became a necessity to create save spaces to our movement so we started to organise GRETA, a party that focused on trans and cis women. We also started a weekly event for my label ZONAexp that went on for three years and which brought a much needed representation of underground experimentalist artists that came for poor and far-away neighborhoods of our city to our scene, in contrast to those scenes that were very elitist.
As you’ve said before, you also wanted to put a spotlight on female DJs. Would you say that overall the local scene has become more inclusive since then?
Yeah, for sure! And I wasn’t the only one with that kind mindset and motivation. It had to be a collective movement in order to open up normative spaces that were historically male-, hetero- and cis-dominated. In my city, as we begun to have a deeper dialogue about gender in eletronic music, we started organising parties and events that had the purpose to be directed to cis and trans women and we helped expand the female and queer role in the scene in a national range.
After DJing for years, you started to produce your own music at the beginning of the pandemic. What did your first steps look like?
It was a very hard time, especially here in Brazil because our president would deny the gravity of the situation and our country slowly got into a huge economic crisis that affects us until this day. I was already familiar with Ableton, but I felt insecure because I did’t have a formal background on music theory. When the pandemic hit, I realised that I had the time to study and practice, so I started having daily lessons with my partner Tabu.
Besides releasing on labels like your own ZONAexp and more recently Leeds’ Gimme A Break, you have also put out some EPs on your own. How do you generally go about releasing your music, what’s important to you when working with a label and what makes you rather do it on your own?
Time, money and priorities. I can’t work over pressure and without money, there’s no way you can work your creativity if you are hungry. I think there’s a charm and a power to release a song with a pro quality on your own. I really do believe in the individual process of the independent artist.
You’ve described yourself as a multi-disciplinary artist. What exactly does this entail and how do your activities in other arts tie in with your practice as a music producer and DJ?
After many years hustling and doing anything to survive, for the last ones I’ve been only working with music. I identify myself as multi-disciplinary artist because I’ve explored myself with other forms of expression, being a tattoo artist, painting and drawing and producing events. I’ve always felt the need to explore myself in other artistic languages, but music will always feel like home.
You have established strong ties to the German scene, playing fairly regularly in Berlin and sometimes Leipzig. How did that come about?
Internet!
What was the idea behind your mix for our Groove podcast?
This mix unites tracks that I’ve been playing a lot recently, and they are mainly produced by artists that I personally know and admire.
Last but not least: what are your plans for the future?
My future goal is to develop myself as a music producer, to provide comfort and better life to my family.
Stream: ERAM – Groove Podcast 383
01. Lukr0, Cardozo – Sigue
02. Dexplicit – Fire Bell
03. DJ Marfox – Apito Do Guetto
04. K-OH – LOGDRUM ESPANCA NOIA
05. bastiengoat – Work That
06. Yunna – Day (Addison Groove Remix)
07. Addison Groove – Cus’ I Vuct It
08. Burna – Rider
09. BADSISTA – MOON IN LIBRA
10. DJ RAMEMES – SEXO COMPLETO
11. Sean Paul – Temperature (Traps N Trees & DJ BEAST Remix)
12. VIANA PROD – LILSIL
13. Burna – Hammer
14. CRRDR – Animal
15. DJ Chedraui – DISCO CALOR (JUKETON VIP CON DJ FA$TI)
16. DJ SWISHA – TAPPED IN
17. ERAM ft. Tabu – In Brasa Juke
18. MoonDoctoR – Beat That
19. Destravalt (Prod. Colas) – Pula Pula
20. Doctor Jeep – Rolla Dex (Sam Binga’s Turbo Mix)
21. K-OH – QUADRATEK
22. Brunoso – Césio
23. Kyan, Mu540 – Evoque (VIANA PROD Pula Pula Bootleg)
24. Suzi Analogue – Mojo
25. dgoHn – Sporks
