Coachella stretches out across the desert like a temporary, hazy city, buzzing with music, movement, and sun-soaked energy. Sound carries easily in the open air, overlapping sets, booming bass, and crowds reacting in waves, while palm trees and art installations give the space a distinct, almost surreal energy. As the day cools and the sky shifts into soft shades of orange and pink, the atmosphere changes with it, turning more electric and immersive. It’s a place where everything feels slightly heightened. Louder, brighter, more immediate. And for a few days, the outside world fades into the background, with music and unforgettable experiences in the spotlight. 

In the midst of all of this desert magic, is an escape within the Coachella escape itself; the Red Bull Mirage. Fusing music, culture, and culinary excellence, Red Bull Mirage offers a premium hospitality experience across from the Quasar stage at the Empire Polo Club during Coachella. Marking its second year at the festival, the 20,000-square-foot, multi-level structure allowed guests to fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere and socialize.

Not just a pop-up, but an atmospheric character, this year at Coachella it was filled with the sounds of DJ Jessica Brankka. Based in São Paulo, Brankka is on the rise around the world, with her sets filled with Indie-house, Afro-house, and melodic techno. She’s even performed a set at the iconic Hï Ibiza, making the Brazilian electronic music scene shine. With her set booming in the center of it all, the energy in the Red Bull Mirage could not have been more ignited. Drinks flowing, fashion peaking, bodies dancing; this was the place to be, and a moment in time refusing to be forgotten. 

Read all about Jessica Brankka’s DJ experiences and her time at Coachella’s Red Bull Mirage below. 

What was the first time you fell in love with a crowd, and the most recent time?

The first time I remember really falling in love with a crowd, it wasn’t even a big one. It was dark with everybody packed closely and there was this moment where everything locked. I realized I could move people, not just physically, but emotionally. That feeling you’re conducting something invisible between strangers became addictive. The most recent time? It’s different now. It’s less about proving something and more about surrender. When a crowd trusts you enough to go somewhere unexpected with you, that’s when it feels like love again.

How did your journey, particularly your time in the Brazilian electronic scene, influence the "provocative essence" and tension in your sound?

Starting in Brazil is what made me who I am. There’s a rawness there, a directness in how people experience rhythm. The tension in my sound comes from that push and pull I felt there: sensuality versus aggression, control versus chaos. That “provocative essence”; it’s really just honesty. Nothing is hidden.

What does it mean to you to perform at the Red Bull Mirage at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, especially in a space that’s known for spotlighting boundary-pushing artists?

Playing at Red Bull Mirage feels more intimate than people might expect, especially within something as massive as Coachella. It’s like stepping into a pocket where the outside noise fades a bit and there’s more space to really connect with the music, with the people in front of you, & with the moment itself. That kind of setting invites a different level of attention and openness. 

How does the energy of the Red Bull Mirage setting shape your performance—does it pull something different out of you? And where do you feel music in your body the most? 

There’s this intensity, like the air itself is charged, and it feeds back into how I build my set. Physically, I feel music most in my chest; sort of like a pressure. Low frequencies sit in my ribs, but the sharper sounds, the textures live higher up, almost like tension you can’t release.

Your work exists at this intersection of sound and style—do you see fashion as an extension of your music, or a separate language entirely?

Fashion and music are the same language to me, just expressed through different materials. Sound is invisible, clothing is visible, but both are about silhouette, texture, contrast. I don’t think of fashion as separate at all. It’s another way to extend the world I’m building sonically. Sometimes an outfit will influence the way I play, just as much as a track does. It’s all part of the same atmosphere.

What are you currently chasing that you haven’t quite caught yet?

Right now, I think I’m chasing a kind of purity. Not perfection but something more spontaneous than that. I want to reach a point where everything unnecessary falls away, where what’s left is completely undeniable. I don’t think I’ve caught that yet. Maybe you’re not supposed to.