MERITXELL DE SOTO

In this interview, we delve into the world of MERITXELL DE SOTO, who share her inspirations and unique perspectives.

Meritxell de Soto

1. Introduce Yourself to the Casawi Community: What drives you? What's your artistic vision, and what sets you apart from the crowd?

My name is Meritxell de Soto, and my work revolves around sound and the body. I exist at two extremes: I’m a club DJ, but I also create performances. These are two very different temporalities, yet I bring them together through affect. In my personal lore, CDJs/turntables and the mixer are devices of pleasure and desire. That’s how I perceive them, both in the club and in my performances.

I’m driven by MIAU (Memory, Intelligence, Affection, and Ulteriority). The desire to give and receive pleasure, embodying something cozy yet tough at the same time.

2. City Inspirations: How has your city influenced your artistic path? Share how its streets, culture, and energy have molded your work.

Barcelona has undoubtedly influenced me deeply. It has a strong history of electronic music stretching back decades and has also been a key stage for the development of post-porn in connection with queer movements. This has been a fertile ground for me and a source of endless fascination.

3. Creative Process: What fuels your creativity? Whether it's a ritual, a muse, or a moment of clarity, we're keen to learn.

I’m quite fond of the saying, “Inspiration comes from working.” Although being constantly on the move playing gigs can cause significant disruptions to my schedule, I usually try to recalibrate and use every available hour to create music, dig for tracks, rehearse, and so on. That said, in recent months, I’ve embraced dissociation as part of my creative process. Could I say that dissociation feeds my creativity? I think it doesn’t necessarily nourish it, but it does create fertile ground for generating ideas from a boundary, a strangeness, that can be very interesting. Without a doubt, my creativity is mainly fueled by references (books, music, exhibitions, etc).

4. City Lifestyle and Art: How the places you lived influenced your career and work?

I was born in a small town near Barcelona, where I studied at the music conservatory before moving to Paris to study classical theater when I came of age. These are the only two cities I’ve lived in. They were rather classical references for me in terms of creativity. However, when I returned to Barcelona, I realized that the city had entered a unique phase in recent years. The rise of collectives, SoundCloud culture, trash catalan-core, self-managed parties, young people working in dance, the influence of diverse cultures, and a return to tradition with a futuristic perspective have all brought new narratives to the city that have greatly influenced me.

5. Latest or Upcoming Projects: Give us a glimpse into your current endeavors and what lies ahead on your creative journey.

In 2025, I will continue playing DJ sets in clubs where I want to continue exploring and refining my curatorship around deconstructed club music, grime, and experimental techno. The project is becoming increasingly international, and although I want to maintain a connection with self-managed parties and Barcelona’s cultural scene, my team and I have been focusing on not playing in the same city too frequently.

Additionally, I’m producing a club music EP and developing a new performance inspired by an image from a Van Helden album. On another front, I’ll continue performing Ultra Femme Frequencies, the piece I debuted this past September.