DEBORAH DE LUCA — FIRE WITHIN THE BEAT

There are artists who follow the rhythm — and there are those who become it.

Deborah De Luca belongs irrevocably to the latter.

Born beneath the towering concrete wings of Scampia’s Vele — a neighborhood where resilience isn’t a choice but a necessity — she has forged a path as uncompromising as the basslines that define her sound.

Numbers may hint at her magnitude — millions of streams, sold-out shows across continents, and the historic moment she became the first Italian DJ to perform in New York’s Times Square — but they only tell part of the story.

What truly defines Deborah isn’t statistics, followers, or accolades. It’s the raw honesty pulsing through every beat she crafts. It’s the refusal to bend to expectation, to dilute her essence to fit someone else’s definition of “techno.” It’s the fire that pushed her from humble beginnings — supporting herself through any job she could find, never owing anyone anything — to the global stages she now commands.

Her music is a mirror: reflecting the grit of her childhood, the tenderness of listening to vinyl with her father, the rebellion of carving her own rulebook in an industry that often prefers women to play by someone else’s. With each set, each production, she tells her story — one of persistence, sincerity, and fearless evolution.

And in a world obsessed with trends and façades, Deborah De Luca’s truth resonates louder than any drop.

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Bra UNDRESS CODE

Your collaboration with Nelly Furtado brought together two seemingly different worlds. How did this creative encounter happen, and what did it represent for you as an artist?

So, I’ll start by saying that no friend, no music manager, no agency — no one made us meet. I simply loved this song since I was a kid, and the idea of playing it came because it’s a track that brings back beautiful memories for those who lived it when they were young, and for those who didn’t — the new generation that doesn’t know it — it can be a discovery. So it brings together two worlds, even two generations, as well as two musical universes.

I just felt like doing it. I worked on this track for a couple of nights, maybe three, because I usually work at night — during the day I’m not creative. Then one morning it was half-finished, a few things were still missing, but I decided to try it out. I tried it, posted the reel, and she liked it. So I wrote to her and said: “Let it come out, because it’s really good.” And she said, “Yeah, why not.”

It took me a year to release it, because it’s not that easy to keep up with such a big, famous artist who’s always so busy. But then last year it finally came out, and I’m really proud. I’ve always seemed like a simple, normal person from the outside, but if someone else had done it — an official remix with Nelly Furtado — I would have said, “Damn, that’s amazing.” So I’ll say it about myself too: damn, what a cool thing I did.

top and skirt ANDRE EMERY
arm cuff ARIANNA FABIANO
bracelet PIANEGONDA

Times Square is a stage reserved for cultural icons, and you were the first Italian DJ to perform there for the launch of Hard Pop. How did it feel to bring your music to such an emblematic space?

Times Square was also my idea — if I could play a set in the most iconic places in the world, of course I would. I’ve done it at the Maradona Stadium in Naples, I’ve done it in Turkey on one of the oldest mountains in the world. I even did one on a tiny deserted island in Mauritius during Covid. If I could, I would really keep doing it in all kinds of places. I like leaving my mark — it’s like sending a postcard. I leave people a postcard on the web from a place that I loved. That’s how it works for me.

Times Square is such an incredible showcase, and everyone, at least in the Western world, dreams of going there at least once in their life. Anyone who goes to New York dreams of standing in Times Square, surrounded by the lights and the crowds. So I was a bit skeptical about the permits and whether the project would be approved — imagine how many people apply for something like that.

One of the things that made me really, really happy was that they actually accepted it, and they even let me do it without charging any location fee, even though that was initially part of the deal. They did it because they liked the project, they liked the kind of music I make — they liked the whole idea.

So, since I saved the money I would’ve had to pay for the venue, I used it to pay for my friends and all the singers from my album — about thirty people — flights and hotels to come to New York and be there for it.

How do I feel? I feel lucky, I feel like someone who did something really special. I think this project stuck in people’s minds — not just those who appreciate me, probably even more so in another part of the body of those who don’t.

The experience was unforgettable — and stressful. I probably lost ten years of my life, also because it was announced only 16 hours before, so we had no idea who would show up. It was on a Tuesday at 5 PM, a workday — and still, a massive crowd came.

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trousers AENDOR

Sexism and misogyny still permeate the music industry, particularly the electronic scene. How have you navigated these realities, and what changes do you hope to see in the future?

You could say that sexism is just something that belongs to my world, right? Like I’ll take it all on myself so that women in other fields don’t have to go through it. But the truth is, sexism and machismo exist everywhere. In every field, women are judged — especially if they’re pretty, especially if they have curves, especially if they care about their looks — they’re seen as less professional.

In my field in particular, and even in pop music, there’s been a bit of change in recent years. When I started, the only women around were Cassy, Magda, Ellen Allien — there was no one else. Then, thankfully, Nina Kraviz came along and decided to conquer the world and the music scene. And through that little door she opened, we all walked in after her.

I was the second, after Nina, in that genre — with that aesthetic, that femininity — to really make my mark on the market. Sexism is absolutely still there, very much so, but fortunately the audience appreciates women.

It’s the haters who are sexist and macho. You’ll never see the kind of comments we get under a male DJ’s video. For example, one of the top comments once was “Miss USB” — as if men were out there using a harpsichord or a flute. But that’s the point: women aren’t forgiven for using technologies that make things easier, while men are allowed to.

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trousers AENDOR

From your legendary “Children” remix — now part of a film soundtrack — to your Ibiza residencies, Formula 1 appearances, and more, you’ve always followed your own rules. What does “breaking the rules” mean to you today?

I’ve always been a bit unusual in my world. I’ve always tried to create a kind of twinning between techno and everything that had nothing to do with it — like pop music, Neapolitan folk songs, Formula 1, the Vele of Scampia. I’ve always loved mixing things that don’t belong together. I like these kinds of crossovers because I don’t like the boundaries people create around art — whether it’s music or any other form of art.

Remixing “Children” was truly one of the most important things I’ve ever done. I would’ve never imagined being allowed to put my name next to Robert Miles’. It happened purely by chance — I somehow ended up reaching the people who held the rights. I even got a “Children” tattoo on my shoulder blades because it was such an important moment for me. I felt really proud of myself, and very lucky.

For me, breaking the rules isn’t really about breaking them. What I mean is going beyond the limits that some people have placed and considered “right” for whatever reason. But for me, when it comes to art and music, those limits shouldn’t exist anymore. So I don’t break the rules — I simply move past those boundaries. I just leave them there, for those who stay behind them.

dress KOROBEYNIKOV
necklace WOO CHUCK

Your body is part of your presence — on stage, in the booth, under the lights. How has your relationship with it evolved, and how does it influence the way you express yourself as an artist?

When it comes to my body, we go back to the issue of sexism, right? The fact is, people like me, Nina, Sara Landry, Biia — these two incredible new women of the last few years — we use our bodies because we enjoy being women and we like to show it. But that’s simply who we are, even in everyday life.

When I go grocery shopping, I move the same way, I wear the same tank top, the same low-rise tracksuit. It’s not like I dress one way for the stage and then, in real life, turn into a grizzly bear or a tomboy. Well, yes — I am a bit of a tomboy, but in terms of character, not physically.

I just express who I am. If what’s on the outside reflects a strong sense of femininity, it’s because that’s how we naturally are. We enjoy it, we live it fully. It’s not something we use to flirt or please anyone in particular — it’s simply us being ourselves.