Within the traditions of the Huichol, an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range and Western America, the term Marakame refers to a shamanic figure who is able to traverse between the material and spiritual realms. It’s also the title of the new album by Viiaan, a New York-based, Mexico City-reared DJ, producer, and curator whose fine-grained tracks combine multiple electronic music languages—UK bass, IDM, ambient, techno—in a quest to make something that reflects her own personal history.

We sent over some questions to the artist, who also runs the label Voragine; give it a read and listen to Marakame, which is out now on SUMAC, below.

What is one thing you miss about Mexico City?

My family, my dogs, and my friends. Definitely growing up there helped to shape and define my personality, it gave me the courage to leave and find my own identity. It’s been interesting seeing how much I grew up with ideas that no longer belong to me. It takes time to see yourself in the mirror and understand you are not who you used to be or that you are in a place you don’t identify. I think it all depends on who you are, I don’t really know if I belong to a place, I love traveling and staying in places for short periods of time, sometimes longer than I expected—I’m in Berlin right now and I don’t know how this happened but the fact that SUMAC is based here made sense for me to stay because it feels like home. I think I have a long distance relationship with Mexico and I want to keep it as it is. 

Some of the textures on this record are so vivid. I’m curious how you think about sonic detail when you are producing.

I like to focus on creating or selecting sounds that help me to work on a particular topic or history, most of my music is based on my personal experiences. So basically for this album in particular I tried to emulate how it feels to lose someone or something.

How did the drums on “How To Heal” come about? 

I used a sample from a library of 7,800 vinyl that a friend of mine shared with me a couple of years ago, around 2019. She used to do activations around the collection with different artists where they had the chance to play a DJ set and randomly pick records from it.  

Does running a label influence your own music-making practice?

All the time. I think my label is part of who I am within music. Every single release is what I look for in music. I think I invited the artists to get involved because I relate to their way of expressing themselves with sound. 

Are there any contemporary producers that are inspiring you right now?

J. Albert is always someone I look out for, his sound is so unique and expressive. “SHAME” has been on repeat for the past months. Ranma Entero is one of my favorite Mexican producers. “LOQUAT” is another track that I have played and listened to constantly during summer. Cassius Select is I think the artist whose tracks I’ve played the most. I really like the way he uses vocals and dark textures within the club sound. It’s such an honor to have his remix as part of this project, it feels like a dream to me to have the chance to collaborate with Lavurn. 

DJ Plead is another favorite, since I heard his music a long time ago, I thought it had a very similar ritual forestry vibe that I always tried to find. Breaka is another friend and producer who always makes music that makes me feel like I’m a monkey, in a good way. Some dubs here and there, but also breaks and some vocal chops, always in the right place. 

Do you believe in communication with spirits that have passed to the other side of the mortal plane? 

100 percent—I know for sure that if you are open enough to stop doubting what you cannot see but feel and hear, you can be more connected with the other side.