Alok uses the term "Brazilian Bass" to describe his sunny, feel-good mixture of restrained tech-house and festival-friendly EDM. He is easily the most popular Brazilian DJ in the world, and has continued climbing up DJ Mag's annual Top 100 DJs poll every year since 2015, reaching number four in 2021. He broke through with his 2016 single "Hear Me Now" (with Bruno Martini and
Zeeba), a viral hit that was certified triple platinum in his home country. Since then, he has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including
Armin van Buuren,
Seu Jorge,
Jason Derulo, and
John Legend. He launched his Controversia imprint in 2019, and released much of his own material through it, including "It Don't Matter," a 2021 collaboration with
Sofi Tukker and
Inna.
Born Alok Achkar Peres Petrillo, he is the son of DJ Ekanta and DJ Swarup, two of the most well-known psytrance DJs in Brazil.
Alok first began producing psytrance with his twin brother,
Bhaskar, releasing material under the name
Logica. He started issuing solo tracks in 2012, venturing into house rather than trance. Keeping up his productivity, particularly with a series of Brazilian Bass events,
Alok was receiving recognition as the country's best house DJ by 2014. He appeared in DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs poll for the first time in 2015.
Alok had an even bigger year in 2016, as his
Spinnin' Records-released single "Hear Me Now" (co-produced by Bruno Martini and featuring vocalist
Zeeba) was a huge international hit. Its video was a viral success on YouTube, and it charted in over a dozen countries. Several singles and collaborations were released in 2017, including "Never Let Me Go" (the follow-up single to "Hear Me Now"), which again featured Bruno Martini and
Zeeba. Another
Zeeba-assisted track, "Ocean," appeared in 2018, as did collaborations with
Gavin James ("Innocent") and Zelva ("I Miss U"), among other singles.
Alok founded Controversia, a sublabel of
Spinnin' Records, in 2019. Later in the year, he became a character in the battle royale game Free Fire, and was later acknowledged as the game's most popular character. He continued his productive run of singles and collaborations, working with
Felix Jaehn and
the Vamps ("All the Lies"),
Seu Jorge and
Bid ("E Depois [Que Sorte a Minha]"),
Dynoro ("On & On"), and many others. 2020 brought songs with
Martin Jensen and
Jason Derulo ("Don't Cry for Me"),
Ilkay Sencan and
Tove Lo ("Don't Say Goodbye"), and
Faulhaber ("Party on My Own"), among others. 2021's "Love Again" (with
Viza and
Alida) charted in Austria and Germany, and "It Don't Matter" (with
Sofi Tukker and
Inna) made the Top 30 of Billboard's Dance chart. Other 2021 releases included "In My Mind" (with
John Legend) and "Reunion" (with
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and
Kshmr featuring
Zafrir). ~ Paul Simpson