Azzecca | 5 Minutes With

From the world of interior design to headlining some of the biggest dance floors across the world, Azzecca is redefining what it means to break through in electronic music. Born and raised in Chicago, the city that birthed house music, Azzecca didn’t just listen to the sound—she absorbed it like a sponge, made it her own, and is now using it to inspire a new generation of ravers.

Her journey from hobbyist DJ to a rising force in dance music came to life during lockdown, when she ditched the design world to launch a female-focused club night in Chicago, sparking a movement for inclusivity and safety in the club scene.

Her breakout track Other Side racked up over 13 million streams, and with a slew of upcoming releases and remixes, she’s gearing up to be heard! With a sound that’s dark, cosmic, and infectious, she’s grounding herself as one of dance music’s most dynamic new talents.

In this exclusive interview with Noctis Magazine Azzecca opens up about her mission to bring the Chicago house back to its roots while pushing the boundaries with her new event series, Cosimea. We dive deep into her creative process, the importance of building safe, inclusive spaces for all communities, and what’s next for this powerhouse producer.

You made the leap from interior design to music during lockdown. Can you walk us through that transition and what sparked your decision to go full-time with your DJ and production career?

During lockdown, I spent a lot of quiet time with friends just chatting about life pre-COVID and I realized that a lot of my girlfriends who love dance music had stopped going out to clubs because they found the crowds to be too male-dominated and generally unsafe-feeling. I wanted to change that so I worked with promoters in Chicago to start a female-focused club night in the city. I wanted to bring emerging artists that I believe in to Chicago and curate a dance floor experience that felt inclusive. At this point, DJing and music production was still purely just a hobby for me. It wasn’t until I signed my first track ‘I’ve Been Waiting’ to Higher Ground that I decided to pursue DJing as a career.

Chicago is legendary for its house music scene. How has growing up in this city influenced your sound, and what role do you think it plays in the evolution of dance music today?

I think it’s really important to keep talking about the history of house music and the role Chicago played in creating what is now this massive industry. I’ve lived in Chicago for well over 10 years now, and although I was a fan of electronic music from a young age, it wasn’t until I moved to Chicago and discovered the magic of house music and the collective dance floor experience that I understood how powerful it was. Although house music has evolved into so many different sounds and subgenres, and these days everything seems to be a mix of European, UK and other styles – I feel like it all comes back to Chicago house one way or another. Whether it’s sampling old house record vocals, using 909 drums or 303 acid. It’s all rooted in Chicago house. The groove was born here and will always be what we come back to.

You’ve just rebranded your ‘Dirty Disco’ series to ‘Cosimea,’ focusing on forward-thinking and other-worldly club sounds. What inspired this new direction, and what can we expect?

To make a long story short, a collective in Texas that had once used the Dirty Disco name reached out to me and asked me if I would give the name back to them. At this point, I had already begun to feel a sonic disconnect between my Azzecca Project and Dirty Disco, so I took it as an opportunity to create something that felt like an extension of my personal brand. Cosimea feels like it has a clear sonic identity which will help with booking the artists I want to play at the parties and hopefully down the line creating my own record label to release on and sign other artists to. The core intentions are still the same. I want the parties to be inclusive, safe spaces that bring people back to the glory days of dance music. Dark, sweaty, inclusive, open-minded rooms that give DJs the freedom to express their individual style and take the crowd on a journey.

Inclusivity seems to be a big focus for you, especially with ‘Cosimea’ being a safe space for all communities. Why is this important to you, and how do you see the role of club culture evolving in the future?

House music began as a space for marginalized communities to escape. As the dance music industry has grown and become a massive capitalistic monster, it seems like the core of the industry has been lost in many cases. I want to do my small part in bringing those values back to the dance floor. I want my parties to feel like a safe space for all. It’s also just a fact that non-diverse dance floors aren’t fun. Sharing a collective experience with people from all walks of life is what makes dance music beautiful, and I think we should all be doing our part to create those environments.

Your latest remix of Mindchatter’s ‘Corporate Shakespeare’ is a belter! How do you approach remixing a track, and what can we look forward to with your upcoming remix of Confidence Man?

I love remixes because I get a little peek into another artist’s mind and then get to morph their art into something of my own. I usually decide whether or not I can do a remix based on whether something about the track immediately stands out to me / I get an idea quickly of where I can take the song. Corporate Shakespeare already had a really cheeky, psychedelic vibe so I knew I could do something with it. I switched around the vocals to take on a slightly different meaning from the original and threw a bit of acid in and it was done. Was honestly an easy one to do as the original had so many fun elements to play with. My ‘Confidence Man’ remix was another really fun one and I’m so excited to get that out in January. I took a small part of Janet Planet’s iconic vocals and changed it into a really groovy slightly melodic track. There are moments of hard bassline groove and some really euphoric bits that I always try to incorporate into my songs.

Your new track ‘IDK’ on Higher Ground has this amazing acid-fuelled vibe. Can you tell us about the creative process behind it and what kind of headspace you were in while producing it?

I wanted to make something really cheeky and fun with this track. I’ve been experimenting with different synths and acid processing and trying to hone in on what exactly I want my sound to be as I work towards making an album. ‘IDK’ was my first attempt at making something that has all of the weird cosmic sounds that I love, while also being accessible enough to exist in the commercial sphere. It’s a tricky balance trying to make really weird things sound normal. I think my next few releases will probably lean a bit more underground so it’s great to have a nice sing-along track out to play in my sets.

Arguably your breakthrough track ‘Other Side’ on Higher Ground blew up with over 13 million streams! What was it like to see that track take off, and how did it change things for you as an artist?

The success of ‘Other Side’ continues to blow my mind. Call it beginner’s luck I guess. This was the first track I finished without using a well-known sample. It came from a place of pure creativity and I guess that’s why it has been so wildly successful. There’s no formula to the structure and I wasn’t thinking about what people wanted me to be making, I just made it because I thought it was fun and weird. I wish I could go back to the days of making music with absolutely no expectations or deadlines. I feel like I spend most of my studio days trying to get back to where I was mentally when I made Other Side.

With so many platforms and ways for artists to get discovered, what’s your take on breaking through in the music industry? Any advice for up-and-coming producers trying to make a name for themselves?

I would say the most important thing is to be authentic. There is such an over-saturation of the same sounds in this industry. I feel like a lot of people currently coming up or trying to break through are following too closely in others’ footsteps instead of just figuring out what they love about music and sharing it. The success that comes from copying what others are doing will be so short-lived. If you want to be an artist in this industry I would assume you really love sharing music with people, and if that’s the case you should want to share something new and fresh. It feels so much better to have your own sound than to try to replicate others.

You’ve got some exciting releases lined up, can you give us a sneak peek of what’s to come and any collaborations you’re excited about?

My next single will be out on DGTL in October – this has been a track that I’ve been playing out for years and it feels really good to finally be releasing it. Making music this year has been a challenge with a really full-on touring schedule, so I’ll be using the next few months to replenish my demo folder and hopefully get some stuff signed to some cool labels. I’m working on a bunch of remixes and collaborations right now as well that will hopefully be released in 2025. There’s also a plan to get an album out next year but we will see – I don’t necessarily feel a ton of pressure to get that finished as I want my debut album to feel really really good and want to take the time I need to finish it.

From playing at iconic venues like Printworks and Coachella to launching your own event series, what’s next on your bucket list? Are there any dream shows or projects you’re aiming for?

I just want to keep making music that makes people dance, honestly. I’ve not had nearly as much time as I want to make music this year and I really miss having uninterrupted studio time and the space to get my creative wheels spinning. I’m hoping to break into the UK/EU market a bit more next year – that’s probably my biggest DJ goal. There are also some labels at the top of my dream list that I would love to try to release next year.