This year’s Coachella welcomed a large assortment of artists, each defined by individual styles and techniques. After previous years of performing at the Quasar and Do Lab stages, Chicago’s treasured DJ and producer, Azzecca, finally took the Yuma tent, fusing euphoric dance music with dark house resonances. 

Debuting in 2022, Azzecca has built her multifaceted name and brand on psychedelic genre-blending, with her earliest influences stemming from the electricity of the house music scene in Chicago, cementing her love for melodic techno and dark emotional vocals. As a producer with her own record label, COSIMEA, Azzecca’s work extends beyond the expected terrain, stretching the limits of genre and mood.

As a long-cherished dream for Azzecca, her performance at the Yuma Tent was nothing less than intense, hypnotic, and exceptional, bringing stark sounds and immersive experiences to the crowd. Rivetingly performing unreleased music as well as her favorite tracks, Azzecca’s set undoubtedly raised the bar and became a noteworthy milestone in her career.

This isn’t your first or even second rodeo at Coachella, so tell us your process. Are you feeling good to be back? Any new visual/audio surprises we might see?

Third time’s the charm they say! Getting to play Quasar and the Do Lab the past two years has been such an honor and both sets have served as a milestone in my journey as an artist. Getting to play the Yuma is like the nod of approval from the industry that I’ve been working so hard to earn. I’ve arrived at this set with a confidence in myself and my sound that I definitely didn’t have the past two times I played the festival. This set will be almost entirely my own music so this will be a good opportunity to show people where I’m at sonically and what they can expect from me as far as releases go this year.

You describe your label, COSIMEA as “an exploration of other-worldly club sounds”. How do you feel you extend beyond the normal “club/dance music” genre?

I’m really proud of how unique my music is. It exists in this world in between so many different genres and styles. Other-worldly is anything that doesn’t feel easy to describe and I’ve never been an easy to describe artist.

You’re not just a DJ, you’re also a producer. Do you feel this extension of yourself has allowed you to grow as an artist, and understand music from a whole new lens? Do you see yourself growing more in the direction of production?

I learned to produce not long after I learned to DJ so it’s always been a big part of my journey. I’m still learning to be honest. I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning. I find inspiration in so many different styles of dance music so I’m always wanting to learn to make new sounds and incorporate those things that I discover into my own music.

Being from Chicago, do you feel you were exposed to various arts and mediums, specifically in music? Do you carry a piece of that home/identity into your art? Do you carry any of that here at Coachella?

Living in Chicago I couldn’t help but to fall in love with house music and more specifically, acid. I incorporate acid into almost every single song that I make, and a lot of the music I play when I dj. That part of Chicago will always stay with me.

You’re performing on the Yuma stage this year, how do you feel this experience strengthens your career as an artist/performer?

Playing the Yuma is such a giant milestone, and hopefully a signal to everyone that I’m here to stay. I’ve worked extremely hard to get here and to prove to people that I have something special to offer in this industry. This opportunity has only further ignited the fire in me to keep pursuing this dream and keep doing things my way.