Alok, the most successful Brazilian DJ of his generation, is on a mission to make dance music more sustainable. With nearly a billion streams on Spotify for his track Hear Me Now and a third-place ranking in DJ Mag's top 100 DJs list, he is using his platform to champion Indigenous artists and offset carbon emissions. However, critics point to his frequent private jet travel as a contradiction.
From Rave New World to Rave the World
When brainstorming his new live show, Alok initially considered calling it Rave New World. But a conversation with a Gen Z teen changed his mind. 'She made me realise how pretentious my idea was,' he says. 'The grownups trying to find an easy way out for all of our problems.' Instead, he settled on Rave the World, a title that reflects his focus on the present. 'It's not about a new world, it's about this world. We need to Rave the World.'
Alok performs beneath the Rave Box, a 3D screen the size of a shipping container, with acid synths and gritty 'slap house' beats. The show is a return to his roots in psytrance, the style he started with as a teen at Universo Paralello, one of Latin America's biggest open-air raves founded by his father, Juarez Petrillo.
Early Struggles and Rise to Fame
Alok's journey to stardom was not easy. At 19, he traveled to London with his twin brother as part of the psytrance duo Lógica, but they couldn't secure a gig. 'I knocked on many doors and there was this club whose owner told me: we don't want DJs, but we want bartenders,' he recalls. After two months serving drinks, he returned to Brazil and shifted to a more mainstream sound. He reached the top of Brazil's DJ scene at 24 but struggled with depression, describing it as an 'existential void.'
Indigenous Collaboration and Climate Action
Alok's debut album, The Future is Ancestral, features over 50 artists from different Indigenous ethnic groups. 'It's about them speaking about their own culture, and not some white guy, once again, telling the story,' he says. The album was released in 2024, but the idea began a decade earlier when he participated in an ayahuasca ceremony with the Yawanawá people. He also offsets carbon emissions from his shows through a partnership with Solví, which captures biogas from landfills. According to his nonprofit's website, it has donated £5.4 million to climate, Indigenous, and human development causes since 2020.
Criticism and Contradictions
Despite his efforts, Alok acknowledges the hypocrisy of his private jet use. 'To do just one show: I don't agree with that, you know? There's still a way to do this mindfully. Like, I don't have my own plane any more,' he says. 'I offset my emissions, but I didn't stop emitting. I've looked into sustainable aviation fuel, but nothing will change as long as the system resists it.' Critics argue that offsetting is ineffectual and a form of greenwashing, but Alok insists he is committed to improvement.
AI and the Role of DJs
At Coachella 2025, Alok performed Keep Art Human, a show with 50 dancers replacing big screens and pyrotechnics. 'AI as a tool is not a problem,' he says. 'But it also brings comfort, and art is not about comfort, it's about confrontation.' He also criticizes the superstar DJ culture, stating, 'I'll never be in favour of turning DJs into gods. We're here in service, all the time.'
Future Plans
Alok tours Brazil from 23 June and plays global festivals throughout the summer. His mission remains clear: to balance his career with sustainability, even if it means facing criticism along the way.
