Alok
Raised by psytrance DJs in Goiânia, Alok broke through with “Hear Me Now” in 2016 and climbed to No. 3 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll in 2025.
- Brazilian DJ and producer Alok Achkar Peres Petrillo, born 26 August 1991 in Goiânia.
- Son of the psytrance DJs Swarup and Ekanta, creators of the Universo Paralello festival.
- Broke through with “Hear Me Now” in 2016; No. 3 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs in 2025.
Alok started DJing at twelve, with his twin brother, in a family that already lived on electronic music. Born in Goiânia in 1991, he broke through with “Hear Me Now” in 2016 and has stayed in the top five of DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll every year since 2020.
A psytrance childhood
His parents, the DJs Swarup and Ekanta, were psytrance pioneers who created the Universo Paralello festival in Bahia. Alok and his twin, Bhaskar, learned instruments at ten and started DJing together at twelve. In 2004 the DJs Zumbi and Pedrão taught the brothers to mix, and their first project was a duo called Logica. Alok went solo at 19.
Hear Me Now
The breakthrough came on 21 October 2016. “Hear Me Now”, written by Alok, Bruno Martini and Zeeba, who sings it, came out on Spinnin’ Records. It sits between Brazilian bass, house and indie pop, and it travelled: triple platinum in Brazil and Italy, platinum in France, No. 20 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and No. 2 on Brazil’s 2017 year-end streaming chart. Rolling Stone Brasil later reported that it had become the most-streamed Brazilian song on Spotify when it passed 500 million plays. By January 2026 its video had passed 673 million YouTube views.
Recognition had started at home: House Mag named him Best DJ in Brazil in 2014 and 2015, and Forbes Brasil listed him among its influential under-30s in 2017. DJ Mag’s voters had spotted him too. He entered the Top 100 at No. 44 in 2015, rose to No. 25 in 2016 — the only Brazilian in the top 25 — then to 19, 13 and 11 before reaching No. 5 in 2020. He held No. 4 from 2021 to 2024 and climbed to No. 3 in 2025.
Labels, games and remixes
Alok founded UP Club Records and, with Spinnin’, co-founded Controversia to release Brazilian bass; its first single, “The Wall” with Sevenn, came out on 3 July 2019. In November 2019 he became a character in the video game Garena Free Fire, and in 2021 he released “Reunion” with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and KSHMR. His remix of “Piece of Your Heart” won Best Remix at the 2020 International Dance Music Awards.
In the mix
“Hear Me Now” is still the entry point: a mid-tempo vocal record that works early in a set, long before the big drops. Keep digging with Vintage Culture and Dubdogz.
FAQ
What is Alok’s real name?
Alok Achkar Peres Petrillo. He was born on 26 August 1991 in Goiânia, Brazil.
Who sings Hear Me Now?
Zeeba sings it. Alok and Bruno Martini produced the track, released on Spinnin’ Records on 21 October 2016.
What is Alok’s DJ Mag ranking?
He reached No. 3 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll in 2025, after four straight years at No. 4.
