From LA to the Dancefloor: DENIS Unleashes “Get Out” and Builds CTRL’s Future
A conversation with the artist on her new single "Get Out," the inspiration behind her hypnotic sound, and building a community through her label, CTRL.
For DENIS, crafting visceral energy into the underground and creating an infatuation with her experimental rave
sound that embodies the ethos of techno is her primary motive. She wants you to feel, she wants you to dance, and
she crafts a sonic environment to do just that.
Her influences meld from the globalization she experienced growing up in Los Angeles, drawing inspiration from her
Argentine background, heavily influenced by the visceral percussion of la murga, and the integration of film
subculture so embedded in her city’s DNA.
DENIS's trademark style caters to electro vocal experimentation, dense tribal percussion, and chaotic acid synth
lines.
DENIS talks to 6AM about her hypnotic, acid-laced single “Get Out,” blending Argentine rhythms, LA’s cultural grit, and cinematic techno while pushing boundaries through her immersive label project CTRL.
Hi DENIS! Thanks for talking to 6AM group. How are you doing?
Thanks for having me. I’ve been off-grid since my 2024 release All Juice, building a wave of new material. Get Out is the first to break through, and I’m ready for it to finally live outside the studio.
You’ve got a new single “Get Out” on the way, but if someone’s never heard your music before, how would you describe what you’re trying to create on a dancefloor? What’s the core feeling you’re chasing in your music in general and more specifically with “Get Out”?
The dancefloor is sacred to me. I’m always chasing that visceral, almost primal groove, the kind that pulls people deep into their bodies, into something erotic, hypnotic, physical. I produce what I want to feel: 303 acid lines, tribal percussion, cinematic tension, sci-fi sound design and vocals that feel like they're ripped from a film.
Get Out didn’t begin as a peak-time weapon, but that’s what it became.. It came from a place of anxiety. LA has had a rough year, and when I was putting the finishing touches on this track we were in the first of many spirals with fires burning everything down. UMEK reviewed the track recently and said the acid elements felt unlike anything in the scene right now. That meant a lot.
'Get your copy here'
Claire Hardman’s voice plays a big role in “Get Out”. How did you two cross paths, and what made you think, “Yep, her voice belongs on this record”?
Claire and I first connected through the LvR Mentorship Program, which is run by Leticia Van Riel, the manager behind artists like Victor Ruiz, ANNA and Sama' Abdulhadi. She reached out after I released All Juice, and we started building Get Out together.
Claire already had a hook laid down and I started sculpting the sound design around that energy. Her voice had this restrained intensity that pushed the track into a more hypnotic, tribal direction. I experimented a lot with re-sampling her vocal into something that felt like a chant.
She’s been building a presence through her releases on Mercurial Tones (Biskuwi’s label) and Mavic (Barbuto’s record label), and performances at events like Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). Eventually, as Claire moved more into a hard techno direction. She’s been throwing her own shows through her event series Hyperdrive in Stockholm. I’m excited to hear what else she has up her sleeve!
Growing up between LA’s cultural melting pot and your Argentine roots must give you a pretty unique perspective and musical experiences. How do those influences show up in your music, and does being a woman in the techno scene shape the way you approach your sound or the stories you want to tell?
Being a first-gen Argentine-American growing up in LA, I’ve always had to shape-shift to move through different spaces. That shows up in how I create. My parents used to throw these all-night parties. People dancing, sweating, music from all over Latin America blasting until sunrise. Cumbia, chacarera, merengue, salsa, rock en español. That kind of energy made a deep impression on me. I try to match that feeling with electronic music now.
Deeper on the Argentine side, I grew up hearing traditional rhythms like murga and el bombo from the carnivals. They have this intensity that stuck with me. Even in the way I approach percussion today, I’m always chasing that feeling.
Being raised in the Valley (San Fernando), I was surrounded by hip hop, rock, electro, pop, hard house. I became drawn to the ballroom scene later on as a dancer. Artists like Vijuan Allure, Kevin Aviance… I was obsessed with the freedom in that sound. It all fed into how I think about music and performance. I love watching people lose themselves, feel themselves, and move without thinking.
Being a woman in techno adds another layer. There’s pressure to be polished or palatable, but I’m more interested in gritty / griminess, and a sound that pushes back. I still deal with doubt and imposter syndrome, but I don’t let it stop me. Artists like VTSS, Arca, Uniique, Sara Landry and Anetha inspire me, and I’m proud to be part of a shift in rave music toward something raw and more expansive.
You played LA’s LickNDip event recently opening for HD-4884. What’s one story or moment from that night that really stuck with you, either from behind the decks or from the crowd? What are some shows outside of LA that you hope to play or will play in the future?
I was a little nervous going into my set at LickNDip. That party’s known for hard techno, full throttle energy, and opening for HD-4884, who did an experimental drum & bass set, I knew I had to set the tone in the right way. I have that energy in me, but I also like to play with groove, syncopation, and edits that feel a bit left of center. I wasn’t sure how the crowd would react, but instead of trying to fit into a form, I leaned into what makes me feel. And it worked. When I dropped those more unexpected moments, the crowd came with me. They were open, locked in, and that gave me so much energy behind the decks.
I’d love to play a 6AM show one day. I submitted a curated set for HÖR Berlin x LA a few months ago. I remember seeing STNTS and Mark Broom play for 6AM and the energy was wild.
Beyond LA, I want to play global events like Day Zero in Tulum, EDC Las Vegas (especially Neon Garden or Circuit Grounds), Berlin’s iconic Berghain, and festival mainstays like Tomorrowland, Awakenings, and Dekmantel. I’m also working on expanding my future releases, not just through CTRL, but also with other labels that match my sound like Filth on Acid, Hilomatik, Diynamic, and Factory 93 / Insomniac.
You’re not just producing, but also co-running CTRL: Database Research, blending music with visuals and immersive experiences. What do you hope the label will bring to the music community? Where do you see the project going?
With CTRL, the goal has always been to create space for electronic producers who are pushing boundaries, not just in techno, but in bass, breaks, IDM, and everything experimental in between. It’s a platform, but it’s also a playground. We’re based out of a studio hub in Hollywood, and being in that space has been a game changer. It’s where our music, visuals, and performance ideas all collide.
We’re building more than a label, CTRL is also a creative studio and visual lab. We’re really focused on creating immersive experiences around sound: 3D & AI-driven visuals, cinematic storytelling, and future-forward live sets that hit in a different way. Recently, we created visuals for Laidback Luke, who just played Tomorrowland and is touring worldwide. It was exciting to bring our aesthetic into that level of visibility.
There’s a strong emphasis on community too, global but tight-knit, with a lot of our collaborations happening through Discord, livestreams, and peer-to-peer development. Even though we’re based in LA, our people are all over the world, and it’s been so special to continue to meet and grow with immense talent on a global scale.
The next CTRL release actually drops this week, a track from HD-4884 featuring Crywolf, and that one pushes into a whole new electronic-rock emotional range. After that, we’ve got more releases lined up (TAYKEN, BLUUR, Lugobi) that lean even further into this post-club, cinematic energy. We’re scaling toward a full visual EP project on my side, and continuing to develop CTRL into a home for artists who don’t want to follow a format.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Appreciate you taking the time. Get Out is just the start, I’ve got more music on the way.. The world we’re building through CTRL is only getting deeper, and I’m excited to share more soon.